Welcome to Beacon University
by Hgirl.Hero
Summary: The days of Beacon are usually uneventful for a shy and quiet girl like Weiss. But after running into a blonde, her life is flipped upside down. A dark road lies ahead for these two as they try to figure themselves and each other out. Rated T for language and a little bit of PTSD... I suppose. Other ships as well. School Au
1. Chapter 1

**No Update. Edited.**

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The walk to first period is long and uneventful as usual. The warm morning sun on my pale skin would soon disappear once I set foot in the grand central hall.

Beacon Academy is an older school so most of the buildings are connected with long halls. Some parts of the building have been revamped and are new which means they are not part of the original building. Band and theatre class now have their own building to practice in and can be as loud as possible without bothering any other class.

Heels click while walking up the stairs, school books pressed against my chest, everything else in my bag. At the top of the steps are four separate double doors. Some students come out of the far left side as I open a middle door and step into the building. The air changes to a cooler feeling.

Grand hall has six floors for the six simple academic classes. Literature is the first, history second, science and math third, forth is art, the fifth is business and management. The one floor I'll avoid at all costs. All of the other classes like welding, robotics, and so on, have their own building.

Connecting all the floors together is the cylinder middle with a glass dome at the top. It is a sight to behold at first, but then you get used to it. The first floor is where the school keeps all of the lockers at which means homeroom is here as well.

Teachers will not allow you to go to your locker during class hours so you either have all you need or you don't. Students have tried during passing periods, but with only five minutes and you being on the sixth floor isn't going to happen. Even with the help of an elevator, it's impossible.

I never leave anything in my locker that would make me cause a scene in front of everyone. I would be an embarrassing mess if that were to happen. I suppose I should introduce myself.

I'm Weiss Schnee, top of my class, short girl with white long hair and those nerdy glasses you see in every stereotypical nerd movie. I suppose it isn't much stereotypical. It's more of a fad because of the media and other cultural things.

There is nothing much to know about me. A junior trying to major in art and trying to make a name for herself. I'm only trying to get by in life like everyone else.

The red digital clock on the wall reads seven forty-five. Thirty-five minutes before the first bell. I click down the hall to my locker. Juniors and lower classmen don't get the privilege of full-size lockers, unlike Seniors. Luckily mine is at the top so I didn't have to worry about flashing anyone or getting my stuff stepped on.

Locker 265 is where I stop every day before going to class. There is no lock on it because there is nothing worth stealing, to be honest. The dark green color would tell you these lockers are new, but that didn't stop them from sticking. Mine is easy to open though.

A scoop of the finger, a flick of the wrist, and my locker pops open. Not much is in there except for a backup raincoat, extra binders, books, papers, and so on. I grab my history and literature book for my first couple of hours. My art supplies are already in my pack along with my algebra four book.

I get my stuff prepared for my first class when the slam of my locker and my fingers nearly getting lobbed off, make me jump in fear while releasing a yelp.

"Hey, there pretty girl." A gruff voice says smoothly.

My skin crawls by the sound of the all too familiar voice. The same voice that bothers me every day and the same voice of a jerk. Cardin Winchester. The jock, who is more of a joke to me, stops by every day, trying to get me to go out on a date with him. I don't have much dating experience, but I know with one look, he isn't good for me or for anyone for that matter. With his spiky orange hair and soon to be sideburns, his blue eyes, which he doesn't deserve, and a cocky smirk.

I sigh. "Cardin."

"Gee, that sounded like you don't want me here." He grumbled. I don't. "Come on little lady," he leans in on me. "You, me, movie?"

He's now invading my personal space and makes me uncomfortable."S-Sorry Cardin, but no." I dip out, walking away quickly.

Once I reach a corner to hide behind, I wait for the boy to leave. Cardin's fist connecting with a locker, growling some unkind words (all directed towards me) and stomps off. Hearing Cardin saying those things lowers my self-esteem or what's left of it. I slump my shoulders, shaking my head slowly. "And here I thought today would be a good day."

Well, why don't you have some friends or a roommate that will back you up or be there for you?

It may be simple and easy for some people to get along with others, but not me. I'm not saying I'm rude, but I'm just socially awkward and closed off. And the fact my last name is Schnee, people tend to think I'm snobbish and rude.

I don't have dorm buddies either. One left because I'm a boring, weird, quiet antisocial kid, and the other reasons I'd rather not get into. The other graduated.

Coco Adel, the one that graduated, is a nice person with some sass in her. I recommend meaning her one day.

She always had a goal and she'd always reach it. She's open-minded with me seeing that I am a Schnee. She said she knows what it is like growing up famous. Adel fashion is a company with it's own everything I suppose. I don't know how the fashion industry works.

I walk away from the scene, heading to my homeroom, literature, to claim my seat in the back as usual. The class isn't far from my locker, just down the hall and to the left. Room 343 is Goodwitch's class, strange name I know.

I'd say our connect is more or less subtle, to say the least. Goodwitch is that kind of teacher that teaches, seriously and literally, and just wants to get paid. Nothing more and nothing less. Never has favorites so it is hard to tell if she likes you or not, which puts me on edge every time she looks at me in class. That or she feels pity for me because my class is full of lively people who have friends and a social life.

When I step in, Goodwitch is facing the board, writing page numbers down for the class assignment, not noticing me. It's the usual. I walk up the steps, heading for the back where I sit quietly by myself for the whole class period.

"Good morning Miss Schnee." Goodwitch calls, still writing.

I pull my book out at the moment and nearly drop it on my feet when Goodwitch speaks up. "M-M-Morning." I say, stumbling over my words, picking up the book, and setting it down on the desk.

"Miss Schnee, I'm going to have to move you next to your partner. She doesn't like sitting too far back, so don't get too comfortable." Goodwitch tells me.

My heart skips a beat or ten which is not healthy. "W-why did you assign me to be p-partners with someone else. You know I'm better at w-working on my own anyway." I stutter.

Goodwitch disposes of the marker in the tray and turns to me. "I understand Miss Schnee, but I think it would better if you got to know some people. Don't worry, I have paired you up with miss Nikos, so stop holding your breath."

I do as I'm told and let out a relieving sigh. Pyrrha Nikos is more of a social, never forceful, person. All I know about her is that she's athletic, smart, kind, and has a boyfriend, Jaune.

He isn't exactly Prince Charming. He's more like Rapunzel and Pyrrha is the one who had to climb the tower to get to him.

The bell rings and a sea of people flood the halls along with chatter, yelling and cheering, laughter and gossip. A handful of students come in at first, but when there are only a few seconds on the clock, tons come flowing in. The chairs quickly fill up, chatter still in the air.

"All right students, please sit down. We have a lot to do before the break." GoodWitch says sternly. Most people quit talking while few linger in it. "Zip it mister Lark!"

Sky Lark, one of Cardin's pets. Slicked back grayish blue hair, scrawny and built like a twig. Sky snarled and quiets down.

Goodwitch nodded. "Thank you. Now, students, I'm sure you are all aware of the group project that we have talked about for the last couple weeks and I'm sure you all have made your groups. I've decided to mix up your groups." The class groans. "I understand that some of you are capable of working well as a group, but some lack work ethic." Her eyes narrow in on Sky. He rolls his eyes and crosses his arms.

"I will start calling out your groups. Davis Moore and Jack Ling." The two boys stand up, cheer and bump fists. GoodWitch continued down the row of names.

I keep a sharp ear out for mine or Pyrrha's name. There is a mixture of groans, cheers, squeals, and dirty looks, but when it comes to my name everyone falls silent and turns to me. I gulp, wanting to shrink away.

"Miss Schnee, you will be with miss Nikos. But I'm afraid she is not here today. She has a triathlon tournament."

"Nikos bringing home the gold for Beacon!" Jack hollers. Others holler and cheer with him.

I silently thank Jack for taking the attention off me and I'm able to breathe again. Everyone goes back to facing the front and GoodWitch drones on. Once she is done reading the list, Goodwitch allows the students to move next to their parents. Mine is not here, thank goodness. There is nothing wrong with Pyrrha, I just… never mind.

"Okay students," Goodwitch announces, setting the paper of names back on her desk. "You and your partner will decide on a news topic and you will try to persuade other teachers, including myself, why your topic is the most important one. Good luck."

The room erupts into chatter and idea bouncing without skipping a beat.

I sit in silence with no one to talk to. A sad frown on my face as usual with group projects. It's not that I don't mind working alone. I just want what everyone else has. A friend. And watching everyone talk to each other like they've known each other since birth makes my heart hurt. I sigh, pull out some paper, a book and a sharp pencil out of my bag and go to work.

After the first period, everything seems to go by fast. Algebra four is boring as usual. Native history class is an experience with Oobleck. Lunch comes and goes. Art class is always short because time flies when you're doing something you love to do. Next is my German class. Once the bell rings for my last period, I neatly, and quickly, put my stuff in my bag and make a beeline for German. I hug the walls as I walk, keeping my head low, not wanting to make eye contact.

"Weiss!" I gulp, already knowing the voice. Cardin. I turn to face him. I wish I didn't. I should've ignored him and kept moving forward.

Cardin is looming over me in seconds, a scowl on his face. His hand shot out and grab my wrist. It's a tight hold. I gasp and start to squirm trying to get free. He yanked me close to him, his eyes full of furry.

"I'm getting damn near tired of your bullcrap Schnee." He spits. "I don't give a crap about your recitals, fancy dinner parties, or even your sickly mother. My family is wealthy just like yours is. I deserve the best and you're my only option. I'm not taking no for an answer!" He barked out the last sentence.

I shrink back, tears forming in the corners of my eyes, desperately looking for help. None is coming though. Students are too busy talking or running off to class.

"Well!" He growled, face inches from mine.

Fear is trickling down my body, heart pounding, mouth flapping open and closed trying to come up with an answer. "I-... I-"

"Hey!" A feminine voice yells. Cardin and I snap our attention in the direction of the voice.

A tall blonde girl, wearing a scowl on her face, glares at us. She dawns a black leather jacket, white v-neck, skinny jeans, and orange and white tennis sneakers.

The blonde walks straight up to Cardin as she speaks. "What do you think you're doing Winchester?" She growls, glaring the man down hard.

Cardin straightens himself up, attention now fully directed towards the blonde, still gripping my wrist. "None of your damn business Xiao-Long." He growled back.

She stopped just two feet from us. "Ooh, some naughty words for such a good boy like you Winchester."

Cardin's eye twitches. "What the hell do you want Yang?"

Yang Xiao-Long, a senior this year and a legend, is Beacons girls boxing and mixed martial arts champion for almost four years. I've heard her name more than a handful of times, but I've never met or seen her around.

Her lilac eyes fall onto me for a split second, she winks, then goes back to staring down Cardin. "It's simple, honestly." She shrugs. "All you have to do is let my girlfriend go."

My mind comes to a crashing halt and a silence falls over the three of us. Of course, Yang is gay, everyone knows that. Half the population of Beacon groaned in despair when she came out. Most, if not all, consisting of boys. I, on the other hand, have no idea which side on the spectrum I fall under. So her assuming I'm gay shakes some uncomfortable nerves in me.

Cardin's face screws up in rage, snapping his attention back to me. "You're gay!?" He yells. I shrink back more, the tears now flowing.

Yang steps in though, grabbing Cardin by the collar of his shirt and pulls him close to her face. "Don't you yell at my girlfriend like that!" She hisses.

Cardin released his grip on me. Yang commands me to go to class and that she'll check up on me later. I take it as a lie though. Some stranger wouldn't go this far out of their way for me. Especially not someone as popular as Yang.

"L-let go of me you damn blonde." That's the thing I hear Cardin say before disappearing up the stairs.

I can't focus in German. I'm still shaken up from the events in the hallway. The marks on my wrist from Cardin's iron grip is started to bruise on my pale skin. My emotions are a jumbled up mess after the little stunt Yang pulled off. How could she say something like that? What was the point of it? What she claimed is not the truth. I barely know her and not once did she say my name. Why am I still thinking about this? Ahhh!

German drags on. The only thing that I remember is that we are translating German into English until Miss Schwartz's class was interrupted by a student who burst into her class.

I don't recognize him in the slightest. The student has a streak of pink in his long black hair.

"Pyrrha did it! She won the triathlon!" The boy cries.

I've never seen a class lose it so quickly. I've also never seen a teacher jump up and in excitement either. I wish I could erase that last memory. The boy who came in must be a T.A. for Miss Schwartz apparently because she doesn't yell at him or kick him out. That or she doesn't care.

"All right. All right! Settle down, class. We only have ten more minutes until the bell then you all can throw a big party and do whatever it is you do for fun." Miss Schwartz announces.

Some classmates high five, fist bump or did some crazy handshake before sitting down. For the rest of class people whispered about Pyrrha's win or can't focus on the task at hand. I don't understand the big deal. Then again I don't understand sports at all. In any way, shape, or form. The bell rings and everyone bolts out of class. I can hear people cheering Beacon's chant out in the halls.

"B-E-A! C-O-N! BEACON! BEACON! BEACON!" They all cheer while jumping and throwing their hands.

I'm not too excited to walk out to the sea of people, but if I want to get to my dorm as quickly as possible then I will have to push past everyone or I would have to wait for the crowd to disappear. Not wanting the second option, I shove my stuff into my bag and dash out of class.

I squeeze through any small gap that is possible in the crowd. People can barely hear me when asking to get past them and even fewer pay attention. Elbows poke me, feet stomp on mine, and I yelp every now and then from the string in my toes.

The stairs are mere feet from me when a pair of hands grab me. Meaty and fat hands clamp down on my mouth, an arm wrapped around my waistline.

"Scream and I'll break your nose." Cardin's voice makes my body shiver in fear. I nod in understanding. "Good. You understand you gay slut." He shoves past all the people to the stairs.

I try to make it as hard as possible for Cardin to get me down the stairs.

Once on a floor that has been completely cleared out, I dig a heel into his foot. He growls in pain, letting go of me.

Feeling freedom, I run as fast as I can, but running in heels is next to impossible. Cardin screams some foul language and trudges behind me. I stumble down the stairs to the first floor and run to the closest exit. A wave relief flooded my mind. I am so close until another pair of arms wrap around me and raised me up. I squirm with the little might I have left, trying to break free. "L-let go!"

"Woah, woah, woah, hold on there." The warm feminine voice says in a calm demeanor. I recognized that voice. Yang.

My body and mind immediately calm down.

She holds me up until I fully relax. "Ya Good?" She asks.

I am surprised that Yang Xiao-Long is talking to me for the second time today! I am more surprised that a person is talking to me on their own account. "M-me?" ask dumbly.

I can feel the eye roll. "Yes you, dummy."

I'm set back down on the ground, my legs wobble now remembering that I'm wearing heels and not actual shoes. "S-sorry." I rub my arm out of awkwardness and a terrible habit. "People don't usually talk to me."

Yang hums, stepping up next to me. For some weird reason, I feel a little intimidated and yet safe having her next to me. Yang is much better than Cardin, I can tell you that. She's this tall, muscular, blonde that is… is… is a tall, muscular, and blonde.

"So you want to tell me why you're running down the hall like someone is going to murder you?" Yang askes casually. "Also want to tell me your name. I don't want to call you girl for the rest of the day." She adds, putting her hands behind her head.

A tiny smile creeps up on my lips. It feels nice to actually talk to someone not be ignored. Yang seems nice enough to talk to at the moment.

"WEISS!" Cardin roared from behind.

Yang and I spin around, fear rolling back up to me. Cardin and three of his goonies have accompanied him, one of them being Sky. I'm not surprised.

"You're going to go out with me whether you like it or not. I don't care if you're some gay pig. I deserve the best this place has to offer." he growls, stepping forward. His voice hard and cold like ice.

I step back. The fear in my body makes me shiver all over again. "C-cardin, I-I don't want t-to do this. I- I-"

"Like hell if you deserve the best. Princess isn't interested in you, gingerbread boy." Yang snaps back, filling the gap between me and the group of goons. "Did you not listen last time Cardin. She's is my girl and she isn't your pet, you fat hog."

A vein is popping out of Cardin's forehead now. He looks like an angry cartoon character. His fists and teeth are clenched like he's trying to squeeze the life out of something. "You're calling me fat!? Have you seen those balloons you call a chest? I'm sure you got plastic surgery to boost your confidence for being a dyke."

"No. Thanks for pointing out my own boobs Cardin." Sarcasm is dripping from her mouth. "I just don't think they are as bloated as your ego."

"Why you-"

"What is the meaning of this?" A woman interjects.

Cardin and his goons turn to the woman and immediately take off running, yelling and shouting at each other to move faster, Cardin struggles to keep up because of his hurt foot. Professor Goodwitch stands in the middle of the hall, foot tapping, wearing a scowl on her face. Yang goes stiff with a tint of fear in her body language.

"P-professor Goodwitch!" I squeak out.

She comes clicking up to Yang and me, her eyes traveling between the two of us. This time I'm on my own. Yang can't save me from this just as much as she can't save herself.

Yang gulps, stepping first. "Professor I can expl-"

Goodwitch holds up a hand which shut Yang up. "Miss Xiao-Long I only have one question," Yang shrinks back, her tail between legs like a scared dog. "And that question is not for you to answer. It's for miss Schnee to answer." Goodwitch turns her attention to me. Her hard glare melts into a softer look. "Miss Schnee, would you like to tell me how you met miss Xiao-long and why there was a yelling match between her and Mister Winchester?"

All the pressure is on me now. Even with Goodwitch's soft gaze, I feel vulnerable and helpless. Yang nudges me, giving me a reassuring smile and a thumbs up. She herself doesn't look so confident in her own action. The smile cleared my head though and I am able to explain how Cardin stopped me in the hall earlier today and Yang kind of saved me, then she did it again when Cardin tried to force me to go out with him.

"Well, I'll see to it that Mister Winchester will not bother either of you again," Goodwitch states, crossing her arms. "I swear that boy needs to be taught some manners." I breathed out a sigh of relief. We're in the clear. "Miss Xiao-Long." Maybe not.

Yang cringes."Y-yes?"

Goodwitch is back to her ridge and stern attitude. "Make sure Miss Schnee makes it back to her dorm safely."

Yang is able to breathe now, a smile splitting her face that almost cuts her in two. Yang gives a two finger salute as Goodwitch starts to walk away. "You can count on me Goodwitch."

"Yes, Yes. Just make sure you two don't get into trouble again." Goodwitch waves her off.

Once Goodwitch rounds a corner, Yang jumps up and down, trying to keep herself from screaming out injoy. Before I know what's going on, I'm lifted into the air and twirled around like a doll. Yang repeatedly thanks me before setting me. I'm barely able to catch myself.

"Oh, my gods! Oh, my gods! You just saved me from eternal damnation. Praise the gods of luck." Yang continued to ramble on about being on Goodwitch's watch list for so-called 'bad' kids as Yang puts it. I stand there awkwardly listening to her.

Yang finally sucks in a big gulp of air and breathes it out. "So? Weiss? Right?" She smiled sticking out a hand. "I never got to introduce myself properly. I'm Yang Xiao-Long."

A light blush comes up on my cheeks. "Y-yes, it's W-weiss. Weiss Schnee." I stick out my own hand and shake hers. This causes Yang's smile to broaden.

She chuckles, letting go of my hand. "Now I understand why Winchester was trying to hook up with you. Rich girl, rich boy. Rich family."

"I wish it wa-wasn't for that reason." A sputtered sigh comes out. "I a-also never got to thank you for saving me… twice."

Yang shrugs, swinging a leg forward to start her walk. "No biggie. Now, let's get you home."

I lightly trot to catch up, having realized within a span of four minutes of knowing very little about Yang, she is a drop of sunshine. I mean that with the fullness of my heart. She is enjoyable to listen to, never forcing an opinion down your throat or trying to get you swallowed up in her hardships. She is positive, but that doesn't mean I'm not going to be cautious around her. For all, I know Yang could be a murder or a psychopath or a bully who gets to know her victims before picking on them the next day? Or she's just some kind person trying look out for me.

One question particularly keeps popping up in the middle of my thought. Is Yang my friend? I weigh my odds. They do not seem to be in my favor.

We just met on two bad accounts. I am a shy and quiet girl who is nowhere near as fun or interesting as Yang, so we're the opposite of each other. We barely know each other. Doubt creeps into my mind at an alarming rate, my walk begins slow to a stop. I feel lonely again, standing in the middle of the hall, staring at my feet. Yang continues to ramble on while walking awake. I thought she would leave me behind, but I thought wrong.

"Hey! Ya coming or what?" Yang calls to me. I crane my gaze up to her. A smile is on her face as she waits. "I don't have all day. I gotta meet up with some friends later." I quickly catch up with her.

We walk side by side. I listen to the one-sided conversation Yang and I are having. She never asks me any questions, but she still talks to me. No complaints come from me. Like I said, a drop of sunshine. Yang talks about her time here at Beacon, her friends, and their crazy antics, though she doesn't say much about her family except her sister. Ruby is her name if I heard that correctly.

I don't care about that though. All I care is if Yang is showing interesting in being a friend of mine. Yang doesn't show much interest though which makes me feel dull and boring on the inside. I lead her to a brick rustic building. The words _Light wing_ are carved into the side of the building. I pull open the metal and glass door, holding it open for Yang.

"Hey! I live in this building too!" Yang points out with lots of enthusiasm. "Hm, what are the odds." She walks in, flashing me a big smile.

"So which side do you live on?" She asks.

My first question. It gives me a spark of hope knowing that Yang is showing some sort of interest in me.

"I live on the north side, the fourth floor… Where do you live?" I ask with hesitance.

Yang pulls open the door to the staircase allowing to me walk in. The stairs zigzag all the way to the ninth floor. "Northwest, sixth floor. Not too far from you, I guess we could visit each other if neither of us are too busy." I hide a smile. "But we are in college so the likeness of being free is next to zero." My smile drops. "But then again I do nothing so if you want to come over then just come over. I haven't had any new friends in a while."

My foot slips on a step and it causes me to have a mini heart attack. I don't know if I heard those words correctly.

 _Does that make us friends or are we acquaintances?_ My mind buzzes like a bee-hive _._ _Does Yang really want to be friends with me? That's absurd! Who would want to be friends with a weird, quiet girl, who can't function properly around other people?'_

"You okay?" Yang's voice breaks my train of thought. I shake my head, reply with a simple _yes,_ and continue to walk up the stairs. We soon make it to the fourth floor, Yang gets the door for me again.

"Madam." She looks goofy, pointing an arm inward to guide me.

I give a half smile and walked in. "Thank you." I bow, playing along. I then regret the action. _Stupid, stupid, stupid!_

We walk up the rest of the way in silence. Not an awkward or uncomfortable silence, it's a warm and okay silence. I stop abruptly, recognizing my dorm number. Yang stops as well, after taking a step and swinging back around.

"This your stop?" I can practically hear the smile. That smile that I've grown fond of already. _AHHH! What's wrong with me?!_

I release a sad sigh. "Yes. Thank you for walking with me, Yang."

Fishing out a silver key from my pocket and thrusting it into the padlock. I twist and click, the door swings open with a squeak.

The dorm room is like every other. A small desk is stuffed in the corner across from the foot on the bed. One side is occupied and the other, dull and empty.

Yang peaks over my shoulder, seeing the inside. "Woah! Do you live by yourself? That must be a nice score!"

"Not really." I step in, toss my bag on my bed and turn back to Yang, thanking her one last before closing the door.

Not fast enough to keep her foot from getting wedged in the doorway. "Hold up! I got something for you!"

Shock strikes me like lightning. It comes and goes just as fast. I pull the door back open. Yang grabs my arm, pushes up the sleeve, pops the lid off of a sharpie she had in her other hand and begins to write on my pale skin. It sends jolts and shivers up and down my arm. Weird.

"W-what are you doing!" I ask. Yang does not reply, most likely to keep her writing steady.

Once finished, Yang adds a smiley face. "There. See ya around Weiss!" She walks away, leaving me with several questions.

I watch her free-flowing golden locks disappear around the corner. Mouth gaping, mind trying to process what had happened, I bring my arm up for inspection. A series of numbers are written neatly along with a small message at the end. _See you around!_

My mind is fitting all the pieces of the puzzles together and fast. I quickly slam the door shut, threw myself onto my bed and screamed into my pillow out of pure emotions. I don't know whether they were good or bad emotions. That is something I have to figure out on my own.

For the next couple of hours, I try to comprehend what happened today while staring at the numbers of my arm. _Did she like me as a friend? Does she want me to be her girlfriend or am I misunderstanding something? Usually, when someone gives you their number, it's like dating thing. Right?_ I trap myself in my never-ending questions and fears of misunderstanding Yang or over thinking everything. The problem isn't finding an answer. It is stopping myself from thinking about Yang.

It's been a long time since I've had someone kind in my life, not saying that my family wasn't nice. They were always protective me since I was the second youngest and didn't have the best childhood with my stepfather. He was a drunk and insane man once the wealth went to his head. He got killed in a car wreck shortly after two years of marriage and a year of divorce. He was the second man my Mother married at the time. The first one, Winston, died of a heart contusion. He was me and my sister's biological father. The third one is a nice gentleman that was like my first father. Dice Schnee. My younger stepbrother and his son, William or Will, as we can him, will be ten this coming June. My family may have been broken at first, but I believe we've finally gotten our feet back under us.

An empty pit forms in my gut. Thinking about my family makes me think I am the loneliest of all. I sigh, crawl out of bed and trudge to the bathroom. The shower turns on with a squeak than a groan. I hold a hand under the spewing water, waiting for it to warm up to the right temperature. Once satisfied with the warmth, I go back to reclaim some clean clothes and a towel. Then retreating back into the bathroom and shutting myself in.

I take off my glasses, pull out my side pony and discard my dirty clothes into a nearby hamper and hop in the shower. A content sigh escaped my lips, feeling the water roll down my back. I dip my head under the water to let my hair soak. My hand reaches for a shampoo bottle. The bottle pops open and a clear gold liquid pours into my awaiting hand. I set the bottle aside, dumped some in my other hand and applied it to my hair. Rubbing and massaging my head down to the scalp until my head and hair are equally soapy and clean.

I then dip under the water again, letting my fingers run through my hair to help get the cleaner out. Once done with the shampoo, I reach for the soap and a body sponge. I put soap on my sponge and start to wash, letting the dirt and grime fall from my body. Scrubbing one arm then washing the other. My palm facing upward once I am ready to wash the other arm. My eyes widen, blood draining from my face. I scramble out of the shower and out the bathroom door with only a towel around my body. I struggle to find a pen and paper.

Panic is the only thing running through my mind, but the feeling soon subsides once finding what I need. I sit at my desk and start to write the smeared and fading numbers down. The last two numbers I had to guess on, because of how blurry they are. How could I have been so stupid! The numbers of my only friend have almost been washed away. I sigh, staring at the numbers, memorizing them before heading back to my shower.

It's nearly seven, my usual studying time when I got out of the shower. I sit at my desk, hair in a bun, wearing a baggy t-shirt and sweatpants, with no motivation to get my work done. Instead, I keep staring at the piece of paper with Yang's number. The memory of almost washing it away will haunt me forever. I instantly start to dig for my phone to put her number in so I don't forget or lose the slip of paper. Once finding it, I clicked my way through the phone until I get to contacts and put in her number in.

 _Should I call her right now?_ Yes? No? I bite on my bottom lip. _She's most likely hanging out with her friends like she said earlier… she could be done by now._ I slouch in my chair, whining. Why am I acting like this? I've never acted like this before! Ugh! I slouch more, still eyeing the phone.

' _Come on! Call her! There is no harm in it.'_ The voice in my head pokes. _But… it's weird to call someone you just met. Besides, she's with her friends._

' _It's going to eat you alive if you don't call.'_ My subconscious is right. If I don't call then I wouldn't sleep tonight; it will bother me too much.

I want to scream, but I force myself to sit up. I open my phone, heading straight for the contacts list. I find Yang's number and get ready to call her. So many self-doubting questions swirl around in my head. What if she thinks it's weird for me to call her on the same day we met? What if it's a fake number? What if she doesn't pick up? I grumble and slump back into my chair.

I cup my face and let my hand slide down. "This is so idiotic. I can't ruin the chance of having a friend for this."

Am I really that desperate to have a friend? To call her on the _same_ day we met! Yang is hanging out with some friend and I don't want to bother her.

The thought of Yang having fun with all of her friends, the popular and cool kids, make me feel like I wouldn't-won't-belong in her party or gang, or group, or whatever you call it. I'm not popular or a party animal. For the love of Remnant's gods, I read books and know pointless facts about random stuff. How is that fun?! Why would she want me as a friend anyway?

Self-doubt is back again. Uninvited and unwanted. I pull my knees up to my chest, curling myself up in a ball of dumb emotions.

Stupid. Stupid! _Stupid!_ I chant in my head.

It is eight when I sadly get up from my chair, flick off the lights, and crawl into bed. Setting my glasses aside, I pull the covers up to my chin. I wrestle with my bed and blankets, trying to find a comfortable spot. Tossing and turning until I end up facing the wall. The thought keeps repeating itself in my mind.

Why would she want me as a friend? Why would she want me? Why me? The thoughts in my head caused my throat to swell with emotions. I tried to choke back the sob building up in my throat, but the tears are already flowing.

I shrink under my covers. A pitiful whimper filling the cold, empty, and lonely dorm room. I will always be lonely.

I repeat my little chant to try and not think of the question. _Stupid. Stupid. Stupid._

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 **I just did some editing! If you're new leave a like, comment, and subscribe. BYE!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Edited! If you're new leave a like, comment, and subscribe! BYE!**

* * *

The alarm jolts me awake. Six is too early for normal people, but I'm not like everyone else. Sickness and nausea fill my stomach and head as I try to sit up. The reason for that is the same as always, I simply forgot to eat dinner again. It's rare that I eat dinner.

I rub my eyes and roll out of bed. The first thing I grab is my glasses, resting them on the bridge of my nose and flicking on the lights. I rub my eyes again and head to the bathroom, mutter some incoherent gibberish. "Stupid… Tired…"

The person in the mirror never changes in the morning. Her hair is a wild mess, eyelids droopy, and slouched shoulder. I quietly get ready for the day.

Once finished with the bathroom, I pick out an outfit. A nice flowing blue hue colored skirt and white blouse, rolling up the sleeves just a bit. I straighten the collar before grabbing an old pair of white converse. After tying my shoes, my hand instinctively reach for a small blue purse. Its white leather strap is on its last stretch. I've had this purse since I was ten. My real father gave it to me for my birthday. When he died, I promised to never get rid of it. Even if I do outgrow the little snowflakes on it. Having it around is like having a piece of him with me.

I throw the strap over my right shoulder and head out to get some breakfast at a nearby cafe on campus.

The morning sun is warm as usual. I stand next to a stop light, waiting for the red _Do not walk_ sign to change to a white _Walk_ sign. I could walk across on my own. Not many cars are seen this early on campus, but I wait anyway.

The light blinks to _Walk_. I look both ways before starting my short trek across the road. The bright green glowing sign with Beacon's double axes on a coffee cup shine overhead. It's something I will see every morning for the rest of my time here at Beacon.

The door chimes, signifying those who work the early shift have to wake up and actually serve a customer. Not many people come this early in the morning which is why I come when it's a ghost town.

"Hello and welcome to Beacon cafe." A blue-haired boy calls out from across the counter.

Neptune is his name. We only know each other from me coming in every morning to get coffee. It's gotten to the point where he has memorized my order and I would find a place to sit and he would bring it to me when my drink is ready.

"Oh, hey Weiss." He said, waving. "I'll have your latte right out for you." And he disappears in the back.

I take my usual seat in a booth near a window. Coffee is something that keeps me from drifting off in a daze of thoughts, something to keep me grounded during class and to keep my head from hitting the desk as well.

Neptune strides up to me, a latte in his hand along with a receipt. He gives me the same old friendly smirk when handing me my drink. "Here you go! I added a little extra cream for you."

I hand him the right amount of money, down to the penny. "Thank you, Neptune."

"So same time tomorrow."

I give a nod as an answer and he walks away. I wrap my fingers around the warm cup, basking in the warmth before taking a sip. Today feels like it is going to be a good day.

After my morning coffee, I go through my regular routine of getting my stuff from my locker then going to my first-period class.

When I arrive at my locker though, a sickening feeling bubbles in my stomach. _Schnee's a whore for women_ is dripping fresh red paint. I know it's Cardin's way of getting back at me.

"Huh, guess we have matching lockers too!" A bubbly voice says causing my heart to jump in my throat.

Her blonde hair flowing freely like yesterday, a half smile on her face, those pretty lilac eyes. Yang wears a baggy orange hoodie with a flaming heart on her left breast, jeans and those orange tennis shoes again. She looks comfortable in her clothes.

Yang's half smile broadened into a full smile."Yo princess." She waves.

"H-hello, Yang," I say timidly. The memory from last night flash in my mind. I can only hope she won't bring anything up about me not calling her.

She steps up next to me. We make brief eye contact before I turn back to my destroyed Locker.

"So? Whatcha thinking about in that smart brain of yours?" Yang askes.

I flush and turn away fully. "Well, I thought today would be a good day, but I guess not."

Yang nudges me. "Oh, lighten up! I heard Ozpin expelled Cardin for good."

I press my lips into a thin line, keeping quiet. Hearing Cardin getting expelled doesn't make me feel any better. What he left behind would be all over the school. Kids would point and laugh at me, calling me out or the gossip would spread like wildfire. It's a lie though, but do they care? No.

The thought of people making up lies about me just to get a good minute or two of laughter makes my stomach churn in disgust. My breath picks up speed; I feel light headed.

"Hey woah, woah. Don't go passing out on me now." Yang laces a strong arm around my shoulder, giving me a good squeeze. "Slow, deep, breaths." She breathes in a slow, deep, breath and releases.

I let her do it one or two more times before joining in. My heart starts to slow down and I'm able to focus again.

"See. Not too hard." If I knew any better, Yang's smile has gotten softer.

"Th-thanks," I mumble, gripping my forearm. "I just worry about the little or dumb stuff sometimes."

Yang hums. "Hmm, maybe you should go out more. Hang around friends or something. Get your mind off of things."

My heart stings a little, eyes dropping to the floor. "I don't… have friends."

A silence falls over us. Sadness is like a dying rose with thorns that withers slowly inside my gut. I rub my arm, getting a quick glance at the clock. Seven fifty-five. I need to go.

"'I'm sorry, but I have to go." I pull away from Yang and head to homeroom.

Yang calls out to me. "Hey, Weiss!" Stopping, I turn to her. She still has a smile on her face. "Call me when you're done with school. Maybe we can hang out!"

I smile weakly, mumbling. "Yeah." And head to class.

"Hello there Miss Schnee." Pyrrha greets me warmly when I walk into the room.

"Hello, M-Miss Nikos. Congratulations on your win yesterday." I say sitting next to her.

Pyrrha Nikos has one of the sweetest hearts on earth. I can't imagine anyone not liking her. Her flaming red hair pulled back in a ponytail, a thin bronze hair band helps keep her hair out of her face. It also makes her green eyes stand out. She's sporting a nice white blouse and skinny jeans, her bronze bracelets and belt match, and for the last touch are a pair of heels. The outfit suits her well.

"Thank you." Pyrrha's smile is soft. "I heard Goodwitch assigned me to be your partner. Did you already figure out what you want to do or were you waiting for my return?"

"N-no I waited for you, although, I did make up a list of the topics we can choose from." I pull a sheet of paper filled with topics.

We read, talk, weigh our option and decide on what we want to do. We choose something simple. One, because Pyrrha will be too busy to help me with the project after school and doesn't want to put the whole load on me which is a nice thought. Most wouldn't consider that.

We are all set when the first bell rings and we get right down to work. Turns out, I'm pretty good at communicating with Pyrrha. I think it's because she's so nice and patient. Mayby groups aren't so bad after all.

"What is is our main argument?" Pyrrha asks.

"Our main argument is the way Faunus are being treated and how it's separating our city and many others," I say while writing down some information. It looks more like chicken scratch though, but as long as I can read it everything will be fine.

Pyrrha hums as she scans through some textbooks. "How much time do we have until the bell and until the assignment is due?"

I have enough time to glance up at the clock. "We have five minutes until the bell and the assignment is due in one week."  
Pyrrha nods and starts to copy down some information she found in the book. We don't have much time before the bell finally rings. I tell Pyrrha not to worry about the papers and that I will hold onto them. She thanks me one last time before disappearing into the sea of people, leaving to go to her next class.

I'm the last to leave, but Goodwitch stops me.

"Miss Schnee?"

I freeze and the grip on my backpack strap tighten until my knuckles turn white. I turn to her with hesitance. "Y-yes professor?"

She gives me that same genuine smile like yesterday. "I hope you know that Cardin is expelled and the writing on the locker has been taken care of before school started."

My breath hitches. "Wh-what?" I can't believe it.

"We are quick to respond to students who bully others." She informs me.

I still can't believe what she has told me. My locker is scrapped clean from any evidence of Cardin's destructive message. Another thought occurs to me. Yang's locker was painted on as well. Did they clean that one off as well?

"Wh-what about Yang's locker?"

Goodwitch looks perplexed for a moment before nodding in understanding. "Miss Xiao-Long locker has been taken care of as well."

I don't know why, but hearing about Yang's locker getting fixed makes me feel a bit more relieved, to say the least. I thank Goodwitch before heading to my next class.

Algebra four. UGH!

Professor Peach is in the middle of a lesson when she is interrupted by a teacher and a student. They whisper back and forth to each other while the red themed student stands there casually waiting to be told what to do.

She has silver eyes, black hair that is dyed red at the tips. A pair of headphones rests around her neck. She wears a letterman like jacket. Its theme is red and black with a rose stitched on the left breast. The girl also dawns black jeans and red converse. She looks almost gothic like. Not the type of person I want sitting next to me.

Peach nods to the teacher and turns to us. "Class this is Ruby Rose. She's a new student who has seems to excel in mathematics and engineering. She has been taken out of her old class and put in this one. Welcome, Miss Rose."

Ruby smiles sheepishly. "Thanks, professor."

Peach nods and tells her to find an open seat. I beg and pray, on the inside, that she won't sit by me, but, on the outside, I'm frozen stiff with no clear emotion across my face. Ruby's eyes scan up and down the rows looking for an empty seat. When her eyes land on the vacant chair next to me, I cringe on the inside. She starts to make her way over to me until someone calls her over to sit next to them.

"Hey, Ruby! There is an open seat next to me!" The person who calls her over has short orange hair. That's all I can tell from where I am sitting.

Ruby walks past me to sit next to her orange haired friend. Both of them exchange greetings and class starts back up again. If I listened well enough I would hear snickers and whispers coming from the direction of where they are sitting. Class is going to be more interesting at least, I think.

History is boring, there is no point in hiding the truth. The class, not the actual history of Remnant. Oobleck is talking faster than a cheetah can run.

Everyone thinks he has some weird drink in his thermos. I think it's espresso with fourteen shots of pure sugar in it. Either way, I'm surprised it hasn't killed him yet.

Half of the class either tries to pay attention or falls asleep trying to. I only get snippets of information and look up the rest later. But today is different.

My thoughts are adrift. I don't hear a word Oobleck is saying throughout the class period because I'm too busy looking out the window, thinking about what Yang said this morning.

 _Call me when you're done with school. Maybe we can hang out._

The words keep replaying in my mind since she's told me. I've tried to ignore it, but, somehow, her voice always find its way back to the front of my thoughts. I suddenly grow impatient with Oobleck's class.

"Okay, class! Pull out your textbooks and turn to page 485. We will be starting the Faunus and human war!" Oobleck commands.

Half of the class did as they are told. I don't.

It's lunchtime now, most kids leave for lunch. They go to nearby food trucks or the campus cafeteria which doesn't have much of a meal for you. Ham sandwiches and a bottle of water are served almost every day, but every now and then the lunch ladies are allowed to order pizza for special occasions. Today is a special occasion. The win Pyrrha got yesterday made its way to the lunch ladies somehow and they've decided to celebrate today.

The lunchroom is packed with chatter, laughter and the smell of pizza. I'm not much of a pizza fan, but it was better than a piece of lettuce, flappy ham and cheese, mustard, and mayonnaise, all stuck between two slices of bread.

The line is long and slow, stuffed with hungry and starved students begging and complaining about their hunger. I'm close enough to grab a plate while everyone behind me has to suffer a little longer.

The scent of greasy cheese makes my nose wrinkle. I stand in front of three choices of pizza. Cheesy, pepperoni, and meat. None of them looking too appealing to me, but I'm a hungry college student. Using a spatula to scoop up my one slice of pepperoni and moving on.

I take my normal spot sitting in the back corner of the cafeteria. I don't mope around when eating. Leaving the cafeteria early is something I do every day. One, to avoid the crowd and two, to get to class as quickly as possible.

Patting down my lips to get rid of the grease and disposing of the napkin on the empty plate, I gathered up my pack and leave.

The warm breeze combs through my hair as I make long strides to the main build. It almost makes me wish I could sit under a tree and read peacefully. Not having to worry about the crowds, the judgment, the people, or the world.

My feet tap when walking up the stairs. I pull open the door and-

"NOW!" A voice barks.

A black bag is thrown over my head. I yelp and squirm when several pairs of hands grab me.

"Come on! We don't have much time!" The voice growls.

I know that voice. It's Russell. A goon from Cardin's group of misfits. I'm yanked from behind and drug outside.

"Please! Let me go!" I squirm as much as possible to make it harder for the boys, but it only tightens their grips.

"Shut up!" Another voice spat. Sky. "Dove, get the door."

They aren't stuffing me in a car or taking me far from the main building which is a good thing, but I'm still terrified of what they are going to do to me. The door squawks open and I am shoved through. Cold air swirls around me and my body reacts with a shiver.

"Come on." Russell grabs my wrist and pulls me along. I thrash around trying one last time to see if he would let go by any chance. Dove comes from behind and shoves me forward. The force makes me fall.

"Move it, pig!" he growls.

I don't move. Staying on the floor is an easier way of making their time run out. Meaty fingers wrap around the bag and my hair, yanking me up and off of the floor. I scream in pain. I'm pulled through another set of doors. The air smells less fresh, like sweat and worn out gym socks. Now I'm freezing to the bone.

"That one right there, Dove."

A clinking sound reminds me of lockers. Lockers? The locker room. Russell and Sky stuff me into the small metal box. He rips off the bag allowing me to see him slam the door in my face.

"Have fun." Sky snickered, waving at me before the three boys disappear through the door.

Panic races through my veins. I bang on the locker, hoping that something would come loose. I scream for help, but none comes. Tears well up in my eyes and I slump to the floor, sobbing.

It's been hours since I've been stuffed into this smelly locker. It's the girl's locker room, I can tell by the black sports garment hanging on one of the hooks high above me. I've tried to call someone through my phone, but there is no one I know in the school besides Yang. It doesn't matter anyway, my phone is long dead.

I count every bell that comes and goes. The last one will be in five to ten minutes and the locker room will be filled with girls. I hope the owner of this locker doesn't skip or isn't sick today, but, then again, I'd rather the janitor find me instead of making a scene in front of everyone.

I shift my pack to sit in my lap. It's hard to see not just because it is dark, but because, at some point, I lost my glasses. I can picture them shattered and crushed under the thousands of feet walking to and fro from class to class. Those were my favorite pair.

I pulled my knees to my chest, a sigh escaping my lips, fingers drum freely against my legs as the minutes inch by.

When the final bell rings, I jolt up. I use the little slits in the locker to peek out. A minute ticks by. Two minutes then three. Not a signal person comes through the door. My heart rate is speeding up. I start to panic in my confined space.

Oh, please someone come! Someone! Anyone! I silently beg. The tears form again. "Please," I whisper, pressing my body against the locker.

A few more minutes tick by and my hope of help coming is shrinking. I'm about slump back to the bottom of the locker when the door swings open. A group of seven or eight girls come in, cheering and encouraging each other. Soon more come flooding in. The entire locker room is filled with girls exchange gossip or talking about their boyfriends and what not. I do not dare to look when the clothes start to come off. Not that I can see much anyway. I wait and wait and wait until there are only one or two girls left.

"Can someone help me!" I call out. There's silence. I call out again. "Hello?"

"Is someone, like, stuck in the locker?" The girl who spoke sounds like one of those spoiled rich kids. She's, like, totally rude.

"Yes," I reply looking out the small slit. "Can you help me?"

A pair of emerald green eyes pierces through the slit, making eye contact with me. I gasp and back up.

"Melanie there's, like, someone totally stuck in a locker." The green-eyed girl snickers, waving the other, Melanie, to come and take a look.

Another set of green eyes fall on me. All I wanted to do now is shrink away. I feel like a caged animal in a zoo or at an exhibit. These two are treating me like one as well.

"It's that the Schnee girl that got Cardin expelled?" Melanie, I think, asks with a sneer.

"The one he called a dyke, a woman's whore and a filthy pig?" the other asks.

All Melanie does is nod with a sick smile. My mind is racing now. The chances of them letting me out are slim. now Very slim.

"I bet she's a perv too!" Melanie giggles. "I totally bet she just locked herself in here to get a good look at all the girls. Ooh, I didn't know little miss Schnee was so dirty."

I gulp. _No! No, no, no, no! They got it all wrong. I'm the victim here._ "But I'm not! Cardin's goon stuffed me in here as payback for getting Cardin expelled." I defended.

Both girls ignore me. "Militia! Look!" They both examen something on the locker. A gut-wrenching smile curls up on their lips. Both girls start to laugh."When she finds out that you're in here! I would be very surprised to see you at school tomorrow."

I gulp again. Not good. I don't try to reason with the girls, there is no point. They leave in a fit of snickers and giggles. The locker room door shuts and I'm alone again.

I slump to the cold floor in defeat. "How could I be so stupid? Why wasn't I-"

The door swings, heading the wall with a thunk. "Yeah, Yeah. I understand. Okay, I'll be there."

Someone else. Anyone but her. I recognize the voice and it's the last person I want to see right now. The girl starts whistling a cheery tune. I cross my fingers only hoping that this isn't her locker.

The footsteps grow closer in my direction. My breath suddenly stops when the light seeping through the slits disappear. I squeeze my eyes shut and wait for the worst. The locker pops open. I wait for her say to something, but there's nothing. I peek open an eye. The light is shining through the slits again. What?

There is a ruffling sound close by though and it has me wondering how lucky I am. Her locker is next to me. Her whistling slowed to a silent stop. The ruffling around got a bit more intense.

"Oh, come on, Blake. You told me it was in here." The girl grumbles. She lets out an annoyed huff and slams the locker shut. The sudden noise causes me to yelp.

I slap a hand over my mouth. Oh no.

"Hello?" She calls out, her voice echoing ever so slightly in the empty room. The lights disappear again.

"Do you need help?" Her voice calm and soothing. It sends a shiver down my spine.

I look up in her direction. I can't see the girl, but I know it's her.

"Weiss?" Yang is baffled to see me.

I cringe. "Y-yes."

The clanking of metal against metal sends my heart racing like a Nascar. I stand in time for the locker to swing open. Light shine behind the girl like some savor.

"What are you doing in my locker?" Yang asks shocked.

Out all of the people, out of all the lockers, I was shoved into Yangs. Oh, how the gods have cursed me.

I'm internally screaming. "Ru-Russell, Sky, and Dove stuffed me in here. I don't think they know this is your locker though."

Yang thinks for a moment then heaves out a big sigh, running a hand through her hair. She's silent for a few more seconds. "How long have they been bullying you for?"

I shake my head. "Not long. Maybe three or four weeks, but they were just tying pressure me into going out with Cardin."

Yang stretches out her hand to help me out of the metallic box. I take it and step out.

"I think that's a long time," Yang says, there a hint of stern anger in her tone, shutting her locker. She mixes up the combination and locks it up. "You could have called me."

"I w-would have if my phone didn't die," I reply.

Yang hum, almost in a disbelieving matter. I don't blame her. Yang hardly knows me.

"They didn't hurt you did they?" Yang asks eyeing me up and down. I could have sworn I saw a flash of red in her eyes at the moment.

I shake my head. "N-no. They just… they drug me down here and threw me in a locker."

Yang's jaw clenches. "Bastards. Next time I see 'em they're going to lose some teeth."

I wince at the threat and tone Yang uses. She seems so kind, but, if you step off on the wrong foot, a bomb may go off in a split second.

"Hey, we're together now, so," Yang rubs her head sheepishly. "Do you wanna hang out or something. We can go grab a bite?"

I don't have a good enough excuse not to. It is kind of hard to see, though, without my glasses and all, but I'm pretty sure Yang would be my guide for wherever we are going. It doesn't hurt to try something new for once. Right?

"S… sure, I don't mind getting something to eat." I stutter. I feel like an idiot tripping over my own words. COme on Weiss pull yourself together.

"Cool." Yang smiles. "But I think it would be a bit of a challenge for you without those glasses of yours." She says while reaching into a small pocket. She pulls out a thick black rimmed pair of glasses.

I'm baffled when she hands them to me. "H-how did you find them?" I ask, taking them out of her hand and slipping them onto my face. The room quickly comes into focus.

Yang shrugs. "I was on my way to class when I saw them on the floor. You're lucky enough that they didn't get crushed in the sea of people during passing periods."

Realization slowly creeps into my mind. It is getting harder and harder not to like Yang. And the worst part is that I don't know if I like her as a friend or something more and I've only known her for two days so far.

"So how about some food. I'll pay." Yang said, making her way the locker room exit.

I nod and catch up with her. Maybe today will be a good day after all.

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 **Hope you guys enjoyed! BYE!**


	3. Chapter 3

**It's been a while trying to upload this chapter. I tried to upload it sooner but for some reason, I can't make a doc. it keeps telling me I have an error So I just used an old doc to upload this story. I'm gonna try to fix the error as soon as possible. Anyway, Enjoy the chapter!**

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We went to a nearby burger joint. You could smell the fryer and cooked meat from a mile away. The restaurant was buzzing with lively people. Yang was behind me but that didn't stop me from staying as close as possible to her without making it weird or awkward.

"Next!"

We stepped forward to the counter. The young man taking our order had spiky blond hair. His tie was loose and I'm one hundred percent sure his shirt should have been button up more. At least to cover his chest.

"Hey Monkey boy!" Yang chuckled.

"Sup little lizard!" The boy responded. "I'm surprised to see you here."

"Hey." She grumbles crossing her arms. "That was one time."

I raised a brow. Was Yang an actual murder? Oh, dust!

The boy dips his head low to me and whispers. "She and some dude got in a fight. Yang beat the guy by sending him through a window."

"He was drunk and hitting on my lil sister, Sun. Besides, I paid for the window remember."

"Yeah, I remember." the boy known as Sun chuckles.

Yang grumbles and flicked him on the forehead to get him back on track. "I'll take my norm, and uh… give Weiss the regular with a chocolate milkshake." She says.

"Oh, already got yourself another girl." Sun wiggles his eyebrows. "And not just any girl, a rich one."

"Act-actually we're not… dating." I corrected. "We're just… friends."

Yang handed Sun her card to pay, I felt guilty letting her. A rich girl like me could pay for twenty meals and it wouldn't even be a dime out of my pocket, but for someone like Yang, it was a lot more than that. A lot more. Sun used his blond monkey tail to grab a cup from under the counter and handed it to Yang.

"I'll make sure you gals get your food real quick!" He calls out as we walk away.

We take a booth with a window of the night sky. It was only seven though. I felt awkward and small having Yang sit across from me. It wouldn't be any better if I sat next to her. I also didn't know where to look. Do I just stare at her and make it weird? Or do I look out the window, acting like I'm ignoring her? Ugh. I can't even find out where to look.

"So, how long have you been going to Beacon?" Yang asks before taking a long slurp of her drink.

"Uh… three years."

"What is your major?"

"Art. I hope to become an artist."

"Hmm!" Yang's brows wiggle mischievously. "What kind of art?"

My face heated up. I knew what she was getting at. It was no secret that we draw people; real people. A young man from Vacuo came and modeled for our art class. He wore nothing but a cloth that was draped over his shoulder and wrapped around his waist. It was… uncomfortable to say the least.

"Everyday life."

Yang leaned back, putting her hands behind her head, smiling. "That must be boring."

All I give is a small shrug as my answer.

Our food soon arrived shortly after playing twenty questions. Hot and ready. I could still see steaming waves rise from the fries. The burger looked bigger than my stomach could handle. The chocolate shake looked pleasing though.

"Can I get anything else for you ladies?" The waitress asked.

Yang and I looked at each other. "Um… No thanks." Yang answers. The waitress nods and walks off.

Yang pops a fry into her mouth. "You know it's okay to ask someone questions."

Her words didn't register in my mind. I was too busy staring at the food on my plate. Something was telling me that this was going to be the death of me.

"Aw crap! You're a vegan aren't you." Yang grumbles. "I should have asked before ordering."

I put my hands up. "No, no, no, I'm not a vegan… I just don't know where to start."

Her mouth makes an 'O' shape. "Oh… I usually start with the fries. The small stuff, ya know. Then I move on to the burger."

Her tactic sounded like a war strategy. But I do suppose Yang is good at fighting. The last three and a half years do show in the school records and her body.

My eyes widened. 'That's a weird thought. Why would I think of something like that?' I shook my head and decided to eat. I picked up a fry, still unsure of it, and popped it in my mouth. After that, I don't think I remember eating something so quickly. I did slow down on the burger though. Just to savor the taste and not look like a wild animal.

Halfway through my burger, I got thirsty. I set my burger aside and reached for the milkshake. A bright red charry sat happily at the top. My lips clasped around the red and white straw and slurped up a piece of heaven. It was a cool sweet taste on my tongue.

"Is it good?" I was so entranced in the taste that I forgot Yang was here, sitting right in front me.

It could every ounce of willpower to stop drinking. "Woah." I breathed, after pushing the shake aside.

Yang giggled. "Yeah, they're really good."

'They're better than good,' I thought 'They're amazing.'

My stomach churns, begging me to stop eating. I wasn't going to push it, I was full. I slumped down in defeat.

Yang raises an eyebrow at me. "Full already?"

I looked at my half-eaten burger feeling a little guilty for not eating the full meal that Yang paid for. It was a waste of money for her.

"Sorry for not eating it all," I mumble

"Eh," She shrugs. "My sister does the same thing."

I'm not her sister. I was a complete stranger to her and she's being so kind to me. All of this didn't make sense! How can someone be so kind and caring? First, she saves me from Cardin than gets me out of her locker (I guess she can't avoid something like that) and takes me out and pays for me! I couldn't fathom it somehow.

"Earlier you said I could ask questions, right?" I say sitting up.

"I don't see why you can't."

I bit my lip, thinking for a second. "Why are you being so nice to me?"

"Why not."

My eyes narrowed.'Why not? Why not!? There are some many reasons why not to be kind to me. For all you know I could be a murder.'

"Is there a better answer besides that?"

Yang looked a bit perplexed. She sits up and leans on the table. "Look, I'm just tryin' to be friends with you. Yes, I know that I didn't need to buy dinner for you. But has happened the past day and a half; it looks like you need one."

My lips pushed into a thin line. I was thinking again. She could have been lying, but with the events of the last day and a half and farther than that proved otherwise. Yang was right, I needed a friend. So why was I trying to prove to myself that she isn't?

I turn away looking sad. Why was I denying it so much? All I ever wanted was a friend. And now that I'm getting one, I don't want one!

Yang pushes out a heavy sigh. "Sorry for trying to be kind… I guess."

I felt like I should have said something. I wanted to say something, but nothing came out. We sat silence until Yang decided it was time to leave. We left, and at a good time to, the place was getting packed.

Yang walked me all the way back to my dorm again. We stood just outside of my door when I stopped and turned to her.

"I'm," I sigh. "I'm sorry for the way I acted. I didn't grow up with many friends, real ones, or kind people in my life and it's hard trying to open up again."

But Yang waves it off like nothing happened. "It's no biggie. I guess coming from a rich family does make it hard to find real friends."

A mopy feeling enters my body. "It does," I mumble.

I unlock my dorm door, but before I step in, Yang stops me again.

She scratches her cheek sheepishly. "Hey, so me and a couple of my friends are going to see a movie to start off the weekend. I-If you want to come just call or text me and I'll come pick you up."

I thought about her offer. Why not. I have nothing planned for tomorrow night and this time I didn't try to convince myself that I couldn't. Besides, I might actually have a group of people that I could honestly call my friends.

"What time should I be ready?" I smile.

The day took too long. Too long! Each class slower than the norm. I guess it was because of the nervous giddy feeling that appeared in my gut from last night and hasn't gone away. I just couldn't get the thought of Yang out of my head. She was messing with my mind so much that I had been staring at my half-drawn art for fifteen minutes.

It was a simple drawing of a girl sitting on a bench in a park overlooking the city. I was always good at capturing (Pokemon) the peaceful mix of the city and nature. I got used to drawings like this. All of them looked the same though. The same lonely girl looking for something in her life.

But the thought Yang made my hand start to draw something else. Soon another much figure was sitting next to the girl. Curly hair flowed nicely down her back and arm wrapped around the other girl, a broad smile on her face.

I stopped to admire my handy work. Something tells me that my story was only beginning.

The bell rang. I carefully put the half-drawn artwork away and headed to my last class.

German was especially slow. My eyes were on the board, but my mind was again traveling somewhere else. I tried to focus on the lesson to the best of my abilities, but I kept picturing Yang. Her perfect smile, perfect bouncy curls of gold, and the most beautiful color of lilac I had ever seen twinkling in her eyes. I pictured her walking down the street with several popular kids or two or three interviewers asking about her next match. A different image started to form in my mind. Yang had her hair pulled up in a pony, box gloves strapped around her hands, one hand resting on her hip and the other flexing in the air. She had this confident look in her form with a half smile that showed just a sliver of her white teeth. She wore a black sports bra and sweatpants that barely covered her orange boxing shorts. The muscles on her body were well toned, especially in the abdomen area.

My face flushed at the image. I shook my head and rubbed my cheeks to try and get rid of the redness. There was no way I could focus now and there was no use in trying to fight myself from thinking about Yang, so I let myself drift off.

Every piece of clothing covered the floor. Every dress, every sweater, every pair of jeans, shirts, skirts, shoes. You name it, I had it. I was in distress of finding the right outfit wear tonight. My hair was still dripping wet and I haven't put makeup on.

I plucked a nice yellow and white striped sundress. "This wouldn't be…ugh, no." I tossed the dress aside.

My next choice was a shirt and blouse. The longer I looked at it the more I hated it. I sigh, tossing them aside, adding them to the piles of nos.

"Maybe I should just wear sweatpants and a baggy shirt," I mumble.

That idea was instantly trashed as well. I had to at least look good enough to show that I actually cared to be there. Besides, if I was seeing some of Yang's friends then I might as well make a good impression.

I snuck a glance at the clock on my nightstand. Six fifteen I had an hour and fifteen minutes to be dressed have makeup on, money for myself, I refuse to let another person pay for me, and call Yang.

I sat on my bed, slumped in defeat. "Maybe I should call Yang and tell her I'm not coming."

Minutes ticked by. I didn't have the courage to call Yang. The minutes turned into an hour and that hour into two. When the time was close eight I found the energy to pick up the mess of clothes and not so neatly put them back in my closet. I decided that I would re-organize them tomorrow.

I brushed my knotted up hair to a smooth silk-like touch then brushed my teeth and headed off to bed. There was no need to change into my PJs I was already in them. Just as I was about to snuggle up in my nice warm bed there was a knock on the door. A quick look at the clock told me that is wasn't that late, but who would be knocking at my door?

I unlock the chain, then the knob and pulled on the door, hoping to be a person that had the wrong dorm number.

"I'm sorry but I think you-" Instead I got an eye full of cleavage and a heart attack when the tall blonde cheered. "Heya princess!"

"Yang!" I jumped back. "Don't do that."

Yang chuckles. "Sorry, I just wanted to introduce you to my sister and a great friend of mine."

My mile a minute heart rate just hit my rib cage, making a disgusting mess on the inside of my chest. 'She brought her friends here!? AND NOW!? I'm not even dressed in the proper!' I was internally screaming again… also, her v neck was showing a little too much skin in my opinion.

I try to keep myself from looking at her chest. "W-why are you not at the movies?"

Yang's attitude turned sheepish. "Well," she focused her gaze somewhere else besides my own. "It's going to sound weird and wrong but I was watching you last night and you didn't seem to act well around crowds of people you didn't know."

She was right, that did sound weird and wrong, but I can't blame her for my actions. I was kind of in her personal space the whole time when waiting in line. I have issues with being around people I don't know and it scares me a lot. It's why I don't do much over the week… or the weekend.

"So," She drags out the 'o'. "I thought it would've been a better idea to have you get to know some of my friends before I just throw you in there without knowing anyone."

I let her words hang in the air for a minute, thinking about them before inviting her into my dorm. She smiles and steps past me. I shut the door to what could be an awkward experience or a good one.

"Man, it must be nice to have a dorm all to yourself," Yang said before falling on the empty bed. It squeaked and groaned under her weight.

I crawl into my own bed, sitting criss-cross. "I used to have a roommate, but they left."

Yang's lips push into a thin line. She looks a bit curious about my old roommate. Avoiding the conversation would be futile so I told her what happened a couple months ago. I told her about my last roommate.

"Emerald had some family issues before leaving for college. The way she got her money was by mooching off of others and selling illegal things or substances. She said I was too much of a self-riches snob who had no fun in her life and looked down on the poor. That was her reason for me not talking to her. She was wrong, of course. I was just a shy misunderstood girl that didn't know her place in the world." I sigh. "She got caught stealing a diamond ring from a store. After that, I didn't see her again."

Yang stayed silent for a minute or two thinking about my story. She sits up and looks me dead in the eyes, her face serious. "She sounds like a bitch to me."

"She was…"

The silence came back. It wasn't an awkward silence or anything like that. It was… a good silence… I think at least. I waited for Yang to strike up another conversation. She usually does all of the talking if you haven't noticed. I think some of my questions would be too weird to start a conversation. That's I leave the talking to Yang.

Yang flopping back on the bed. "So you do-"

A knock at the door cut her. The knots were forming too fast for me to even get the door. Luckily Yang got it for me. I kept my head down, eyes low and away from the door.

"Hey, Rubes! Sup Pyrrha!" Yang cheered.

My eyes widen as a small gasp escapes my lips. 'Yang is friends with Pyrrha!? How could I have missed that!? They're both the most girls in the school!'

"Come on in and I'll introduce you guys," Yang said.

The door clicked shut. I looked up at both girls. Pyrrha looked like she just got done her work out. She looked comfortable in sweats. The other girl, Ruby, I recognized from my mathematics class. She wore something similar to what she was wearing yesterday. The same black and red clothes.

Pyrrha seemed a bit perplexed. "Yang, you didn't tell me it was going to be Weiss."

It was Yang's turn to be perplexed. "Wait, wait, wait. You two know each other?" She asks, pointing a finger back and forth between the two of us.

"N-no exactly. We're partners in a group project." I say weakly.

"Huh, that makes my job a lot easier," Yang said.

She walked over to the other girl, who hasn't said a word since coming here. Yang wrapped a strong arm around her sister and pulled her to her side. "This is my nerdy, geeky, weirdo of a sister, Ruby."

Ruby grumbled. "Yang! Too tight!" The red-themed girl's pleas only made Yang hug her tighter. "Gah, Yang!" Ruby was now shoving Yang to get away from her.

Yang chuckles and lets go of her sister. Ruby huffs a bit and straightens herself up.

"Ruby this is Weiss Schnee." Yang gestures towards me.

"I know, I know sh- wait a minute?" Ruby stops. She looks at me with narrowed eyes. Her gaze traveled up and down me then her eyes widen. "You're the Weiss Schnee? The same girl who sang the mirror mirror album! The daughter of the Schnee Electric Company! And the same girl in my mathematics class!" She took a step closer every time she brought something up about me. Soon she was leaning her over me.

I had my hands up just a little. "Um… Y-yes."

And I thought there wouldn't be any smile bigger than Yangs. "OH, MY DUST! It's super amazing to meet you in person. I'm Ruby Rose, I'm a huge fan of yours!" Ruby jabs a hand out for me to shake.

I hesitantly stick mine out to shake hers. Ruby tried hard to control herself, but there was no use. She squeaked in excitement, wrapping her arms around me and pulling me into a big hug. It took me a minute to return the hug although I wasn't a fan of being touched.

"I knew something like this would happen." Yang chuckles pulling her sister off of me.

Pyrrha hummed. "Mm, so you're the one that Yang's been talking."

My body stiffens. "You talk about me?" My voice sounded worried.

"N-not in a bad way!" Yang put her hands up in defense. "They're all good things, I promise."

Ruby snickers. "Yeah, She always daydreaming about you."

Yang elbows her sister while I blush. 'She thinks about me. I guess it can't be that weird. I think about her all the time. Heck, I even drew her!' Saying that in my head sounded so wrong.

"So, what do you want to do? We could talk? Watch a movie play card games go for a walk?" Yang suggested.

"Movie! Movie!" Ruby started to rub her hands together mischievously. "A Scary Movie."

"I don't mind a scary movie," Pyrrha added. "What do you gals think?"

Yang shrugs. "I don't mind. What about you, Weiss?"

I'm not much of a scary movie person. I wasn't much of a movie fan period. But if they want to watch a movie than I don't mind. "I-I guess a movie doesn't sound too bad."

"Yeah! I got a really good one! It's about a psychotic murderess man who kidnaps high school kids and chops them up and feeds on their flesh!" Ruby exclaimed.

What did I just get myself into?

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 **I hope to get my next chapter out faster outwith having any errors. I hope y'all enjoyed and I'll see ya next time. Like, comment, and subscribe! BYE!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Haha, I uploaded this pretty early! I liked writing this chapter for lots of reasons. Hope y'all enjoy it as much as I did writing it.**

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We put a sheet over my window and Ruby set up a portable projector. She hooked it up to her computer and put in the disk. I got a glimpse of the DVD case. freak in the woods was what the movie's called. Yang and Pyrrha had snacks and I had drinks in the mini fridge in the corner. The fridge was filled with pop and water… and maybe some leftover carry out that probably should be thrown out sooner than later.

I got spare blankets and pillows from the other closet. Beacon doesn't have a good heating system during the winter. We pulled the mattress off the spare bed and laid it long ways so all of us could sit down. The seating went me, Yang, Ruby, and Pyrrha. Once we were all settled in Ruby pressed play.

"I hope you don't get nightmares too easily," Yang whispered. "Cause this movie is more than just nightmare fuel."

She stuffed her face with a hand full of popcorn and past the bowl down to Pyrrha. The film started off with a five, four, three, two, one old-timey countdown clock. Beeping every time the numbers change. Once the clock hit zero narration and a castle came in.

On a dark and storming night much like this one' lightning flashed and the man went back to narrating. The camera started to pan out to several kids in a pillow fort eating popcorn slowly because their attention was on the screen.

A woman from downstairs calls to one of the kids. "Billy, your father is here!"

The boy, Billy, cursed and scrambled out of the fort. His friends call out, saying bye to him as he ran down the stairs. He replies with his own bye and runs out the door, but not before saying thank you to the woman.

He hops in an old rusty pickup truck. I could already tell this was the abusive father. I didn't need much of a story to know it was him.

With a cigar hanging from his lips and crusty scold on his face, Billy's father asks. "What the hell were you doin'?" Billy's father growls.

Billy gave a weak response. "Nothin' s-sir I- I was just hangin' around with some friends." He had some teeth missing which messed up his words.

A fat hairy bear arm reaches across and grabs Billy by the arm. The old man takes the cigar out of his mouth, still lit, and jams it into Billy's arm. Billy howls in pain and tries to pull away.

A churning ebbed from my stomach as the father starts to yell at the young boy. Saying some unpleasant things about his friends and quote ' The bitchy whore' his mother is. The scene brought back unpleasant. A small sting of pain pulsed the right side of my waist. The scar, too old and too easy to remember, causes me to clutch it in discomfort.

Billy decided he'd had enough of his father and bolted out of the pickup, down the street and into the woods. The Father yells and hollers. Starts his truck and take off after his son

"You Ungrateful shithead! I gonna kill ya!" The Man roars now ramming his foot on the gas.

The truck picks up speed. The glint in Billy's were eyes tears as his ran. He knew the truck would catch him and it would be the end of the line.

My heart was pounding in my chest. Watching Little Billy try to get away was making my stomach do flips. I wanted to say turn it off, but I couldn't find the words to speak.

A gasp escapes my lips when The little boy tumbles to the floor. The head lights are now shining in his face. Billy uses an arm to cover his eyes and wait for his time to come. The truck speeds more off screen until a sickening crunch of metal echoes through the forest.

The next thing I know I'm standing the middle of the street. A white car flipped over, smoking ebbing from the engine. Several police cars showed up as well as an ambulance and firemen. Some policemen were talking. One notices me and comes walking up to me.

"I'm sorry," he's word echo in my ears. "There is nothing we can do to save him."

I didn't react. I didn't burst into tears, or scream, or curse. When the officer stepped out my sight the medics were lifting the small lifeless body off the floor and onto a stretcher. I didn't blink nor shudder or move. I watched in silence and in stillness. The last thing I remember was the ambulance pulling away with my lifeless brother inside.

A scream broke my flashback. Pyrrha had glued herself to Yang's side as the monster had already gotten his first victim and was now heading for Billy.

The poor boy tried to run but the tentacles wrapped around his limbs and pulls him into the darkness where only his screams are heard before there is a wet bone crunch snap and silence filled the air before the movie flashed its name.

"Pyrrha you're crushing my arm." Yang tries to pull away, but Pyrrha stays firm.

"I'm sorry," she whispers. "Just let me hold on to you for a couple more minutes, at least until my nervous cooldown."

Yang huffs. "Fine. Hey, Rubes, pass the candy over."

There was ruffling of a bag and an 'onf' followed by a 'thank you' and more bag ruffling. The sweet scent of chocolate tickled my nose.

"Do you want some snickers bites?" The scent got stronger when the bag was shoved under my nose.

I took the bag into my own hand and… well… started to eat it like candy. I think I would have eaten the whole bag if Yang hadn't stopped.

"Hey, that doesn't mean you can eat the entire bag!" Yang chuckles softly taking the bag from me.

I'm able to snatch one more before Yang passes the bag back Ruby. I pop the tiny bar into my mouth, trying to savor the taste. Water was able to wash the chocolate, peanut, and caramel down.

The small group of kids are now older and in high school. Two kids I recognize from Billy's funeral. The blond, Jack, and the redhead, David. Jack was making weird signs to David. He laughs at his friend's weird signs. The screen cuts off and goes to both boys in the locker room shirtless talking and laughing.

My face heats up a bit watching the two change into there football uniforms. Yang whistled playfully. Pyrrha is able to relax and finally lets go of Yang's arm. Yang wiggles it around to get some feeling back.

The typical teenage drama went on through half of the movie. Cassie was yelling Jack for getting them lost in the forest because they wanted to pull some dumb prank on David. But they didn't know David's been dead for the last forty-five minutes of the movie. Jack then brings up some stuff about Cassie hitting up on a kid named Johnny and they continue this until the monster comes out of the woods disguised as a young Billy. Both freak out saying that he's been dead for the last seven years. They both get chased down. Jack dies and Cassie gets saved by her father at the last minute by running over the monster several times.

It's nearly ten thirty when the movie ends. None of us seemed too impressed about the ending. Even Ruby said she remembered it being scarier than that.

Yang was the first to get up and stretch out her stiff muscles. "Well, it was fun at least."

The lights turn on. We wince and rub our eyes to get used to the light again. The floor was a mess with wrappers and empty cans of pop and water bottle. Bits of popcorn were scattered all over the mattress.

Pyrrha and Yang pick up the mattress and put it back as Ruby and I picked up trash. Ruby gathered up her stuff and nearly put it all back in her pack. Pyrrha started to fold blankets, but I told her to simply put them on the bed and that I would fold them in the morning.

"So, Weiss what did you think?" Ruby asks.

I shrug. "The movie wasn't that scary."

"I'll say," Yang chuckles. "Pyrrha nearly broke my arm at the beginning."

"I was taken off guard by the jump scare, Yang!" Pyrrha protested.

Yang kept making fun of Pyrrha. In return, their little banter made a smile appear on my face. They kept this up for a good four minutes until Ruby's yawn signified that it was getting late. Pyrrha was first than Ruby and Yang was last. They all said their goodbyes. Yang stayed behind just a bit longer, waiting for Pyrrha and Ruby to be out earshot before speaking.

"Think you can sleep tonight," Yang ask. She was joking, I tell by the smile on her face.

I rolled my eyes. "Oh please, That thing looks faker than a dragon," I say in a teasing manner.

Yang leaned in closer to me. "Well, you have my number if you get scared." her voice fruity.

It sent a shiver down my spine as she spoke. A giddy smile replaced my confident one as she took our little talk one step farther.

"Would you like to go on a date next Friday? Maybe I can take you somewhere nicer for dinner." Her eyes twinkled.

Everything came to a crashing halt. "Uh…" My mouth flapped like a fish begging for air. "I-I… I just- it's… I just…" I was struggling to find the right words.

The twinkling in Yang's eyes was fading. "Oh, I see… I'm sorry. I shouldn't have assumed-"

"No, it's not that!" I cut her off.

Yang raises a brow. "Then what is it?"

I nibble on my lip, turning my gaze away from Yang, embarrassed. "I just… don't… know who I like.. Yet." I fiddled with my fingers. Yang could tell I was uncomfortable with the situation and backs off a bit.

"Oh," she says. "So you haven't really figured yourself out have you?"

I shook my no. I had no dating experience with a guy or a girl. I don't know what flirting is and how to detect it. Heck, I don't know how to properly kiss someone, much less have… do other things with them. The thought of someone touching me made all the color drain from my face.

'What if Yang wanted something like that? What if she wanted-' I shoved thought aside with a head shake.

"Hey, it's okay to not know what you like yet." Yang wraps her arms around me and pulls me into a nice hug, resting her chin on my head. "Don't let those voices in your head get you down. I'm sure whatever they are saying is false."

'But what if they're not? What if I can't-' I had to stop thinking about it. I needed to or it would bother all night just how I didn't call Yang two days ago.

"Your grip in getting pretty tight. Are you sure you're not scared of-"

"Can you stay with me!?" I blurted out. Oh, gods of Remnant what did I just do. I wasn't thinking. The emotions were too much for me to handle and out of the things to blurt out, I yell that.

"Um… sure."

"Thank you… it just gets really lonely at night." It wasn't a lie, but it wasn't the truth.

"Yeah," Yang speaks in a whisper now. "I know what it's like to be lonely and left in the dark."

Her words are locked in my mind for me to ponder later. Yang releases me, but I'm already missing the warm embrace.

"I'll come back, okay. I'm just going to get ready for bed and tell my roommate that I'm sleeping with a friend."

My body cringes. 'Sl-sleeping with an fr-friend? Does she think we're going to share beds! Wait am I taking this way out of proportion or is she being series. Oh, I don't know!'

"Be back in a bit, Weiss!" Yang calls to me as she walks off, waving to me.

I barely raise my hand to give a weak wave back. "Come back quick," I whisper watching the golden locks disappear around the corner again.

I sat in bed, teeth brushed again, hair combed again, glasses off and knees pulled up to my chest. My mind's gears were hard at work. Thinking about Yang's words. 'What does she mean by "I know what being lonely and left in the dark is like"? What happened to her before coming to Beacon? Did something bad happen to her family that she didn't know about? What would they be hiding from her?' I decided that these questions were too personal to ask and that I would have to be patient to get the answers that I wanted.

Yang's PoV

"She's a little shy is all. I'm trying to get her to open up though and I think it might be working." I say to my roommate as I'm changing into an orange tank top with a fiery heart in the middle of my chest. "Weiss is a bit weird… I guess I can't blame her. She doesn't do well in crowds and I've noticed that she doesn't want to be touched. I don't know, what do you think, Blake?"

The girl sitting in bed with her nose in a book, glances at me for a split second before going back to reading. She something similar to what Ruby would wear. A baggy purple shirt and black basketball shorts.

"The Schnee family has had trouble in the past and I know some things may have affected Weiss. Losing her stepbrother, William, was heartbreaking for everyone in her family." Blake states.

I think about Blake's words. "How do you know all of this?" I asked putting on a pair of black shorts similar to Blake's.

"The news. It was three years ago when she lost her brother. Several people have also said that Willow's second husband was abusive towards the Schnee girl. That may be why she doesn't like being near crowds or likes to be touched."

I'm now in the bathroom brushing my teeth. Getting as much of the sugar off my teeth as possible. The white foam splatters against the sink when I spit. I clean the sink and my brush off.

"All right," I say, reaching for my pillow. "I'm going to sleep in Weiss' dorm tonight. See in the morning, Blake."

Before I leave, Blake stops me. "Does she really not have a roommate?"

I shook my head no, shut the door before she can stop me again and head back down to Weiss' dorm.

I knock the door two or three times and it doesn't take Weiss long to respond. The door swings open and Weiss invited me in again.

"I'm sorry for," She yawns in the middle of her sentence. "Making you come back here."

I shrug which is my signature reply. "No biggie. So I'll sleep on the spare." I claim the bed by throwing my pillow on it although I didn't need to claim it the first place.

Blankets that were sandwiched on top of each other are already spread over the mattress. Weiss said she didn't have a spare cover for me. I didn't mind though. I thanked her before crawling in bed. It groans in protest if my weight. The blankets were warm against my skin as I snuggle between the two. A nice warm sigh escaped my lips as I relaxed.

"Yang?" Weiss calls from the other side of the room. "C-can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

She was silent for a minute. "D-do you like to-touching skin?"

My brows knit together. "Like skin on skin?"

"Yes." Her reply was barely a whisper. I had to strain my ear to hear.

I think about it for a minute. A long minute. 'I don't mind too much contact. Some clothes do come off, but I've never taken all of my clothes off… why is Weiss asking this anyway? Is she afraid of being touched by hands? Does she not like her body or something?' Some of those questions might not be the best to ask right now.

I shrug to myself. "Not too much. I guess it's to a certain point when things start to get a little uncomfortable for me… can I ask a question?"

"You may."

"So, why did you ask me that?"

"Why not."

Ooh Schnee, you sly girl. I giggle before going back to being serious. "But seriously, why did you ask me that?"

All you could hear are crickets coming from Weiss' side of the room. Okay literal crickets, but-... you get what I mean.

"I-I do-don't like being to-touched." Her voice croaks.

My eyes snap open 'Oh shit! I didn't make her cry did I?' One thought only came to my mind in that moment. Get in bed with her!... okay, okay, that's sounded weird too, but I couldn't do anything else.

I grab my pillow, throw the blankets and stroll over to Weiss' bed.

"Yang? What are-"

I command her move (in a nice way) and slide into bed next to her. Fresh hot tears were running down her face like rivers. Weiss wiggles away from me.

I sigh. "I know your not much of an open person, but I here for you, not as a couple as a friend. Friends help each other."

All you could hear were the soft whimpers of Weiss trying to hold back the tears.

"Hey, Weiss," I whisper. "Can I hold you close?"

No answer. Cool fingers glide over my hand and weave themselves with mine. Weiss didn't say a word for the rest of the night. I rub my thumb over her bony knuckles. It was a natural act for me.

A deep sigh fills the air. 'Good enough.' I close my eyes and drift into the dark void of sleep.

I was the first to wake. The morning felt like a cool spring bliss. Sunshine seeps through the small sliver opening of the window curtains. Our hands no longer intertwined. Her small arms though were loosely wrapped around my torso. Her face buried in my hair, forehead resting between powerful shoulder blades. I didn't dare move. Weiss needed to wake on her own. My heart beat, slow, heavy, and even. Weiss nuzzles herself closer to my body.

Gods she was small. She fit so perfectly in my arms the other night I just want to hold close to me. Her skin smooth and pale against mine. I couldn't get Weiss out of my head. I just wanted to turn around and kiss her. Kiss and hold her. Hold and kiss her. It was driving me insane.

Weiss' hands retract from my body. I tensed waiting for the gasp or the scream, the shoving or the kicking but none came. Weiss was still sleeping soundly. I took my chance and turned over to face her.

I just wanted to pull her in close and never let her go. I love Weiss and I'm not going to deny it one bit. She's as fair as Snow White and as smart as Belle.

My arm finds itself slithering around her waist, hand wanders up and down her back. Her muscles small and relaxed. Eyes landing on her pink lips. They were in chanting.

I wiggle closer to close the gap between us, but a hand is placed on my stomach to stop me. Weiss' hand. My muscles tense when cool blue eyes meet my warm lilac.

"Um…" I'm dumbstruck. No words left my mouth. I'm sinking fast.

Her hand leaves my stomach. "... not too tight." She breathes.

I nod and gently pull her close to me. Weiss fits like a missing piece to my puzzle. Her hands tucked in close to her chest and bury herself under my chin. Mint fills my nostrils with the scent of her hair. Oh, Dust! Oh, Oum! Oh, everything! Weiss is my new personal teddy bear!

There was something I've always loved to do and it always, always, helps me relax. "Is it okay if I run my fingers through your hair?" Weird, right? But every time I do it, it feels like a massage on your head.

Weiss only hums for my answer. My finger slowly run through a small part of her hair. I do this several times before coddling her head. Resting my nose in her hair to smell the minty scent again. I loved it. The scent compliments her well. Not cold, but cool. Not hard or soft. Weiss was just right. She was right for me… but she hasn't figured herself out yet and it's killing my soul.

I sigh heavily. "Hey, Weiss?"

"Hm?" She hummed.

"I…" the words were still forming into a sentence. "I like you a lot… but I don't want to push you in one direction."

She didn't reply. Her breath glazed over my collarbone slower and softer. I look down to see that she had fallen asleep. A half smile comes across my lips. I gently kiss her on the top of her head unaware of the smile her lips formed right after.

* * *

 **There needed to be some fluff in it. Dor some reason I can't resist little fluffy scenes. It's my weakness. I wrote this chapter pretty quickly. I'm also trying just to focus on Weiss, but she literally does nothing over the weekend. So I switched to Yang for a bit just to give her some background. Okay, i'll see you the next time I update. Like, comment, and subscribe. BYE!**


	5. Chapter 5

**I'm really enjoying this story a lot, but I don't want to move too fast with the characters like most fanfics (that I've read) do, so I'm just trying to set the mood for the two lovely ladies. Hope you guys enjoy and I'll see ya at the bottom!**

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I slipped out of bed after Weiss was fully awake, it was almost noon by the time she was. Not wanting to just dip out and leave her there, I waited to tell her I would be leaving. She thanked me again for staying the night. ' _Hey, no biggie!'_ I thought. She says goodbye when I walk out the door and shut it.

Blake was gone when I got back to the dorm which was the normal thing. She always got up early gymnastics practice with Ilia. She says she doesn't have a crush on her, but I know her too well. She knows me pretty well too! But I think I gave it away too easily mostly because I spoke about Weiss nonstop.

I grumble and fall on my bed with a _whoop_. "Uuuuuhhhhgggg!"

The thought of her not being gay is destroying my heart. I'm glad that she's honest but Oum she's killing me.

' _It's not the end of the world. She doesn't know where she belongs, but I'm just going to give her a little nudge in one direction.'_ Is it bad to help someone find out who and what they like? One little nudge isn't too bad, right?

"Gods, I'm going to screw this up."

My phone buzzes. I shoot up thinking it was Weiss. Thinking that she's going call say ' _Yang, I'm gay'_ or ' _I love you'_ or something cheesy like that. But the person calling me was not Weiss, it was Ruby.

With the click of a button, I answer the call. "Hey, Ruby."

"Hey, Yang!" the chirpy voice replies. "I saw you stay behind last night." I can already picture her brows wiggles suggestively. "So? Did you two _do_ anything?"

"No, Ruby. We didn't _do_ anything." I say rubbing the bridge of my nose. "We talked, I asked her out on a date, she kind of freaked and asks me to stay the night with her and being the nice person I am, I did. We talked some more and I think I made her cry-

"YOU, WHAT!" I jerk the phone away from my ear. "YOU MADE WEISS CRY!" Ruby shrieks.

From what I know, Weiss is Ruby's idle and meeting her last night was a big deal to Ruby. So hearing your big sister make your idle cry is not good. Younger siblings can be terrifying at times.

"Woah, woah, woah! Ruby, stop and let me explain." She still yelling on the other side. It gets so loud I almost think it's coming from the halls outside.

I wish I hadn't thought that now. The door is thrown up and Ruby wastes no time to throw herself on me.

"YOU JERK!"

"RUBY! Hold up ju-" she crashes into my back knocking the air out of me.

She didn't have a strong punch, but damn she could pinch like a bee can sting. Small zaps of pain shoot through my body and she starts her assault. I squirm around trying to grab her hands, but she's too quick for me.

So I moved to plan B. I easily throw her off to the side me and roll over on top of her.

"Yang! Mhf!" I wrap my powerful arms around hers, forcing them to her side.

It was her turn to squirm and try to escape. Even after she does stop squirming, I wait for a couple seconds and ask if she was calm enough to act a normal person. When she speaks it feels she motorboating me. I giggle, giving a small squeeze before getting off of her, using my elbows.

Ruby gives me a grumpy/pouty face after getting off of her… well, not all the way.

"I hate it when you do that." She grumbles. "You could've suffocated me with those things!"

'Those things' as in my chest. I roll my eyes. "Okay, first, you and I both know I don't have big enough boobs to do that. Second, you attacked me first."

"Well, you made Weiss cry!" She shot back.

I grumble and roll off of her. "Dust, Ruby. Can you just listen for, like, five seconds."

She stays silent which I hope is indicating that I could speak.

I suck in a deep breath and push it out. "So it started off with her asking me a weird question which was if I liked skin on skin contact as in- I'm guessing here- a sexual way. I tell her that I'm not much into that and she starts crying and tells me that she doesn't like being touched! I don't know if it's because of her past and she's letting out all of her emotion that she's bottled or what !? I just- Uuhhgg!" I throw an arm over my eyes.

Ruby shuffles around, throwing her legs over me and resting them on my torso. I'm not bothered by the gesture it's something Ruby does often. "You do know she's been abused, right?"

I release a heavy sigh. "Yes. Blake also told me her brother died, but I didn't think-

"That's the thing, Yang. You don't think!"

"I know, I know. I just got caught up in the moment."

Trust me, when something like finding the girl or boy of your dreams happens to you, you forget to be sensitive at first because your so caught up in the moment and you just want them. People forget to treat others like a person as well.

' _I didn't do any of that stuff. I didn't ask any questions about her past or her abusive stepfather or her dead brother! So what did I do wrong?'_ I grumble at myself. My arm is moved from my eyes and light pours into them. ' _Is she afraid of me?'_ the thought of her being scared of me causes my stomach to churn. It could be a possibility that I reminded her of that demon in her life. I'm muscular and strong, but I would never hurt her. ' _Gods this is eating me alive.'_

Ruby shuffles around and clambers over me, now sitting on the side of my bed, legs hanging off.

"Just watch her, Yang. watch and wait, so when the time is right, you can be there." Ruby says.

Her words stick in my brain. They're pretty wise for a twentyone-year-old. Sometimes I think Ruby is an old wise woman disguised as a young girl and she just follows me around, telling me what and what not to do so I don't get myself killed.

The bed shifts when Ruby gets and leaves. The door closes with a soft click and I'm left alone again.

I let my mind wander for a bit. Then something occurred to me. My brows crease, thinking. "How did she even get in my room?"

After getting off my butt and taking a shower, I go to meet Blake at a nearby coffee shop. She likes to read there. It's a Faunus friendly place, but every now and then there's some scumbag who wanders in and thinks it's a zoo.

I park my motorcycle just a few inches from the curb, hang my helmet on the handle and make my way into the little shop.

I immediately spot the raven-haired girl in a window booth sipping tea and reading. Face unmasked as usual. With a couple of steps, I'm at the booth, sitting down.

"Hello, Yang." Blake doesn't look up from her book.

"Sup, kit kat," I replied teasingly. I get an eye roll as my response.

A waitress stops by. I recognize the bunny ears from a mile away.

"Hey, Vel! How are things with you and Coco?" I ask her before she can ask me about anything.

"It's good. Coco just released a new selection for the spring season." Velvet replies. "Would you like your regular?"

I give a nod and she disappeared back to the counter. Blake set her book down long ago now sipping on her tea. She set it back down a cheeky smirk on her lips.

I groan. "What, are you going to interstate me too?"

"As a matter of fact, I am." She says. I could tell she's enjoying this. "So you left last night. I know like know what you two."

"We talked," I say too quickly.

She raises a brow in questioning, thinking that we did more than just talked. I don't why she has the need to question what I did last night.

"Ugh, you and ruby both think I did something stupid last night?" I grumble.

"Knowing you, I pretty sure you did do something stupid last night," Blake says before taking another sip of tea.

I roll my eyes. "Oh and I'm sure you and Ilia did some _stretching_ exercises."

Blake chokes on her tea. I snicker when she scowls. I was used to this look. Everyone scowls at me for either my looks, whether I looked good or bad, my fighting, flirting, muscles, or smarts. Blondes being dumb is a myth.

"Smart ass." She deadpans.

Velvet comes back with a cup of coffee topped with cream and has a dash of caramel cinnamon in it and a sandwich cut in two. I hand her my card in exchange for the food and she disappears for only a moment then returns the card to me.I don't wait a minute longer and dig into my meal.

"Ruby told me you made Weiss cry."

My cheeks were stuffed when I spoke. "Did she tell you why?"

"Yes… poor girl. The abuse must have taken a great toll on her mind and body…" there's silence than a sigh. "At least you're there for her, whether you love her of you just like being friends with her… Although I already know the answer." She smiles.

I chuckle weakly. "Thanks, Blake.

"Anytime, Yang."

We… well, I eat in silence for the rest of the time we're there.

After leaving the cafe, Blake and I took a little walk through the park. It's a beautiful day to get away from it all. Fresh air in my lungs always felt nice. A warm breeze brushes through my hair like soft fingers.

"It's a nice day isn't it," I commented.

Blake hummed, too intrigued in her book to care about nature. ' _Bookworm.'_ I grumble in my mind. An idea flickers to life. Now, whether it's a good idea or bad idea is the real question. I could die from doing it!

My mind makes the decision for me. I whip around, snatch the book from Blake's hands and make a mad dash in the opposite direction.

"XIAO-LONG!"

' _Yep, bad idea.'_ I chuckled to myself.

I cut through the grass, dodging people, dogs, and bikes. Several people are either grumbling or shouting at me for almost hitting them. I can only shout back an apology. I cut through another patch and-

"Watch out!"

A stranger's body collides with mine and we are both sent stumbling to the floor. When the dust clears, I'm on top of an orange-haired short girl.

A huge smile splits across my face. "Hey, Nora! What brings you here?"

"To the ground or to the park?" She asks.

Before I can reply Blake Shouts."YANG!" The book is ripped from my hand and slammed down on my head. Don't worry it's not the hardest she's swung.

I rub my head. "Ow," I say weakly.

"That's what you get for stealing you boob." She grumbles.

I get off of Nora. "Hey, just because I have a bigger rack doesn't make me one."

Blake shakes her head in disappointment and heads off to a nearby bench. I help Nora up. A blond haired boy and a black haired boy come running.

"Are you guys alright." The blond haired boy asks.

I stick a pinky in my ear pretending my ear hurt. "I was until I heard your pre-pubescent voice Jaune."

"We say you and Nora collide with each other," Ren says, he always sounds concern when he talks about Nora getting hurt.

Nora shrugs off his concern. "We're fine Ren, although Yang almost got herself killed again with stealing Blake's book."

I chuckle. "Yeah, I think would have gotten away to if we didn't run into each other."

"Not in any way, shape, or form Xiao-Long." Blake cuts.

Ren, Nora, and Jaune were in the middle of playing frisbee when I crashed the party. I jumped into the game while Blake sat on the sidelines like the boring cat she is. D-don't tell her I said that or she might actually kill me for real.

The only time when I stop is when I see the ivory hair out of the corner of my eye. Weiss. My undivided attention turns to the ivory haired girl. She's wearing a nice light blue flowing dress that matches her eyes beautifully, sitting on the bench working away on something in her binder. I'm so distracted that when the frisbee hits my temple I don't flinch.

"Hey, Yang! You're supposed to catch it with your hands, not your face." Nora cheers.

I ignore her and move in on the ivory haired girl.

Weiss' PoV

Draw, erase. Draw, erase. It had taken me a while to remember what Yang's sister looked like, but I had finally gotten it down. Pyrrha wasn't too hard. Ruby sat next to Yang on the bench. It felt fitting to have the sisters together. Pyrrha stood next to my sitting figure in the picture. I also decided to add Sun as well. Seeing as to him knowing Yang, I thought he would be a nice addition to the picture. He's in the background for now leaning against a tree not too far away from the bench, wearing jeans and a button up white shirt.

I had put that picture away a while ago. I didn't want to take the chance of ruining it. There was another paper resting nicely on my binder. It was something I started this morning, seeing that the image was still fresh in my mind. An aerial view of the position Yang and I were in this morning in bed. My figure nicely tucked under her chin, her well-toned arm around me and a warm hand in my hair, coddling my head close to her. The feeling of her fingers stroking my hair lingered even after she left. That feeling will be unforgettable to me.

I stopped to clench my pencil angrily. ' _Why couldn't I have just said "Hey, Yang! I like you and you're nice and all. I was just wondering if you could help me with handling my emotions because they are a mess right now.'_ I grumble at my stupid thought. Yes, I liked Yang, but I'm just… I just don't… I don't feel ready to be in a relationship with someone I just met. And Yang having more experience than I do worries me.

"That's a nice drawing."

 _'Oh, my gods please no.'_ I gasp and slam my binder shut. The swirl of emotions is back when I hear the blonde's carefree.

"Yang?! Wh… What are you doing here?"

The blonde circles around the bench and plops down next to me, throwing an arm around me, but not pulling me in. I secretly yearned for her to pull me close. Her warmth gives this blissful feeling in my chest.

"Oh, ya know, just playing frisbee with some friends." She jams a thumb behind her.

I follow her to the redheaded girl and two boys, one of them being Jaune. I put my attention back on Yang when she speaks.

"So I didn't you were into stuff like that." She seems somewhat hesitant when she speaks.

I raise a brow. "What do you… Oh, no! It wasn't… I wasn't… It's not that! I don't draw stuff like that."

I fiddle with my fingers. Something I do when I get nervous. The look of shame is on my face. Why do I feel guilty for drawing Yang and I cuddling in bed? Is it because I'm hiding it from her?

"Sorry, I didn't mean to imply that you draw stuff like that," Yang put her hands up in defense. "I guess I wasn't thinking." She chuckles sheepishly rubbing her neck.

Yang doesn't seem like the person to pry, but I wish she was so I wouldn't feel guilty about hiding the drawing. Or I could ask her if she wants to see it? ' _Nope, nope, no! Why ask her! What if you embarrass yourself or Yang might think your weird.'_

I gulp. "Do… Do you wish to see it?" I'm internally screaming once again. Oh, Remnant why do I put myself through stuff like this!

Yang silent for a second, thinking over my offer. "If you really want too! I don't mind."

' _I'm so doomed._ ' Sometimes I wished the voice in my head would shut up. It takes to realize what I was supposed to be doing. I gulp once more before flipping open the binder. Yang scoots closer to me to get a view of the drawing. I watch her face, her eyes, her smile, her emotions. My heart sinks watching her smile drops into a line. ' _Dust, she hates it! She's gonna think I'm some weird stalker or pervert! I knew I shou-_ '

"Wow," She breathes, gently takes the paper from my binder to examine it more carefully. "You're a damn good drawer Schnee. The angel is great."

Wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute. She… actually likes it? I… I… How?

"You… You like it?" I'm hesitant to ask.

Yang smiled. "Yeah, I like it. Heck if I knew you were a good drawer than I might have come with fewer clothes on."

Heat rushes to my cheeks. "Wh… what?"

"Aw crap. I wasn't thinking again." Yang grumbles. "Usually my mouth is faster than my brain and I throw words around carelessly sometimes." She flashed a sheepish smile trying to lighten the mood.

We sit in an awkward silence. I realize we are in a public setting which makes things all the more awkward when people could be watching from afar.

Yang apologizes and hands back the drawing. "Sorry. Didn't mean to mess with you like that."

She sets the paper back in my binder. There's an impulsive feeling all throughout my body. I don't try to control it and I let my mind make its own choice.

I quickly sign the paper in the bottom left corner and hand it back to her. "Keep it."

Yang looks at me wide-eyed. "Weiss, you probably worked really hard on this drawing-"

"Please, keep it," I say, resting the paper in her lap. "After having you stay with me last night… it's the least I can do for you."

Her smile broadens. Yang takes the paper, folds it up nicely and slips it in her pocket. I watch as she treats the drawn paper with care when slipping it into her pocket and not just stuffing it in there.

Yang rests her hands behind her head, sucking in a deep breath of air and pushing it out. "This is nice." She says.

A small smile tickles my lips watching Yang relax. She seems to fit in with the park setting, but also stand out with her curvy and muscular body. I could stare at her all day and never get tired of that look.

"You wanna go on a walk?" Yang asks, turning her attention to me.

I'm caught in the middle of staring, Yang doesn't acknowledge it though. I answer by standing and holding out a hand for her to lead the way.

Our walk is nice. Several kind people we pass say hello, but only for a brief amount of time before they disappear behind us. I take in all the sights and sounds of the life around me. It's somewhat calming with all the movement.

Every couple of yards or so I see Yang inch closer, her pinky and ring finger slowly worm their way into my palm until our finger are laced together. I don't say a word. I don't pull my hand away. The only thing I do is enjoy the warm touch of her hand in mine.

Something is burning inside me, itching at my throat. A question that has been stamped on the front of my brain. It dumps a question an-and I didn't want to look like some bimbo in front of the blonde. If I didn't say anything now then I might as wave my sleep for tonight goodbye.

"Yang?" I instantly hate myself for letting my voice waver.

Yang hums to show that she's listening and paying attention.  
"I-I was… I was wondering if your offer for Friday is still standing?"

She gives her full attention to me with a smile on her face. "Dang, figured yourself out that quickly?!"

"No… but…" I can't deny my feelings for Yang. It's something I haven't felt around anyone else. "I want to try… whatever… this is. I like you a lot as a person, but I can a bit of a nervous wreck when it comes to people and relationships."

Yang chuckles. "Yeah, I've noticed… and I think that just makes you all the more cuter."

My heart lurches. A giddy and exciting feeling run through my veins. I have to stop and give myself a breather. Yang giggles on the sidelines. Gods why do her words affect me so much!

"Hey, you should come by my dorm later. You gotta meet Blake. I think you two would hit it off well."

I ponder the offer. Still not doing anything tonight. "I won't be a… bother to her will I?"

"Nah, Blake's a bookworm and kind of needs to meet some new people anyway. I just thought it would be a good idea for the two of you. Call me when you are ready to come over."

"Do you have somewhere to go?" I ask. Yang seemed kind of hasty when speaking.

She rubs the back of her head. "Yeah, I kind of have do having a boxing match with my trainer in an hour. I'm sorry to leave you like this."

I wave off her apology. "You have things you need to d and I have things I need to do… A-anyway I'll see you around four or five, right?"

"Try six." Yang chuckles. She releases my hand and says goodbye.

I watch her gleaming golden hair shine in the sun as she walks away. My hand twitches begging for the warmth of her hand. Gods my emotions are everywhere.

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 **So, yeah. Trying to take it slow is a bit hard for me. Because when you write you get another idea in your head and you just want to rush past everything else and get to that one part. Anyway, I'll see y'all the next time I upload. Like, comment, and subscribe. BYE!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Man, I'm super tired. I stayed all night watching kill la kill. IF I KNEW THERE WAS ONLY ONE SEASON THEN I WOULD HAVE SLOWED DOWN BUT NO! *breathes* sorry, I just really liked the fast pace and animation style and I'm a really picky person so that's sayin' something about the show. Love it! Anyway, that has nothing to do with this chapter. hope y'all enjoy and I'll see ya at the bottom!**

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I stop by a sandwich shop and pick up a sandwich to refuel myself so I have the energy to head back to Beacon.

Once back at my dorm I freshen up a bit, even though it was nearly two in the afternoon. I had other plans though. I sit down at my desk, pull out a fresh sheet of blank white crisp paper and a newly sharpened drawing pencil, an eraser, and my memory of the walk.

I decided to take the view from behind. We are looking at each other smiling while there are hustle and bustle all around us. I slow down when I get to the hands though. Drawing them sent a tingling feeling all throughout my left arm. I am once again yearning to held by the sun drop. She gave me pure joy and comfort.

It's nearly four thirty when I finish the drawing. Led is on the side of my hand. It can be easily washed off, but for now, I had an hour and a half to kill before actually dying of embarrassment. I needed to distract myself with something before giving myself a panic attack. I realize my closet needed to be organized because of yesterday's fiasco and waste no time to get up and clean.

Cleaning my closet only killed fifteen minutes which is basically no time and I'm back to doing nothing… again.

"Why am I so… So… Why do I have so much time!" I grumble. Most people would want some free time, but I just have so much of it that I don't what to do with it!

There is nothing for me to do except draw or read. I don't mind doing either of those things, but once I start doing one of the two, I can't stop myself! It's like… it's like a video game. The more you play it, the more you uncover and that's what pushes everything forward.

I look around, trying my best to find something to do, something to distract me, something to help calm the nerves a bit.

I grow frustrated with the lack of things to do. ' _Everyone has some activity they can do. Pyrrha with track or whatever and Yang has boxing. I can't go talk with Sun because that would weird and awkward without Yang and I don't know where Ruby lives.'_

Ruby. I liked Ruby. She's like Yang, but more antisocial and a geek… and more of a gothic kid… okay maybe they're not alike, but they are sisters after all. Ruby Rose and Yang Xiao-Long.

My eyes widened when the realization of their last names are different hits me like an unexpected quiz that no one prepares for.

' _They're half-sisters. They have a different parent or parents per say.'_ with a world full of different sexualities, there's no telling what Yang's family is like. If anything Ruby or Yang could be adopted. ' _Is that what Yang meant when she said she knows what it's like to feel alone.'_

No! The thought is too sad for me and I shove it into the back of my mind. I can't stand thinking about someone else's broken family or my own memories will come back and I've tried too hard to forget to start remembering now. My thoughts overcome my sense of time and I drift into a nulling void of thought and quietness.

My eyes snap open. "Oh, my- What time is it!" I realized that I had fallen asleep from thinking so much.

I check the digital clock next to my bed. The red numbers gleam the time of six twenty-two. My heart is pounding so hard from reading the numbers I almost thought I was having a heart attack. The first thing I reach for is my phone, then my shoes and purse. I pull up Yang's contact and call her immediately while trying to slip on my shoes.

The phone rings on the other side before a high pitched voice, much too high pitched to be Yang, picks up. "Hello."

I freeze and my face is drained of color in less than a minute. This isn't Yang's number! Oh, gods! What did I do?

"Hello?"

I struggle to find the words to say. "H-Hello…"

There's a silence on the other side that is making my stomach do backflips. I can only pray to Oum that this person would at least know Yang to some extent.  
"Weiss?" They ask.

I shutter. "How… How do you know my name?"

The person on the other side giggles. "Because I just met you yesterday!"

I'm dumbstruck. This person actually knows me and met me yesterday?! Wh… What? How? I think back to yesterday trying to remember anyone I met. The pitched voice spoke again instantly presenting the person's name right in front of my mind.

"Ruby?"

"Ding, ding, Ding! We have a winner!" She cheers. "So… how did you get my number?"

I flashback to the shower I took three days ago. Nearly washing the numbers made me cringe a bit. I remember I'm completely out of time and I would have to explain to Ruby later.

"That's… not important right now." I say. "I need you to tell me where Yang lives."  
There was no need guess what her face looked like, I can already picture it. "Why?"

"Because we are…" think of a lie quick, Weiss! "We're going on a date!" NOT THAT KIND OF LIE! I instantly start to internally scream for like the fourth time.

"Ooooh! Sounds nice!" I knew Ruby was wiggling her brows. "Where are you-"

"I'm sorry Ruby, but I really, _really,_ need you to tell me where Yang lives. I'm already super late and I don't want to waste any more time." I didn't have time to answer every question the little red themed girl could throw at me. I did feel bad for cutting her off though.

"Oh… okay…. She lives on the sixth floor, northwest, the room number is 849." hearing the redhead speak with less mirth hurt me.

"Thank you… and Ruby?" I speak softer now.

Ruby replies with a hum."Hm?"

"I'll tell you how well the date went once we are done." Gods, I'm just digging myself a hole, but I couldn't leave Ruby hurt.

A bit of mirth is back in her voice when she wished me luck and says bye. I say bye, hang up and dash out of my door and head for the stairs.

By the time I'm on the sixth floor, it's six thirty and my lungs would be needing a replacement. I give myself a minute to get air in my body before going on a hunt for Yang's room.

As I walk down the halls I repeat her dorm number until I reach it. A tightness in my chest, causes me to take in a big breath to try and calm myself down.

When I reach out to knock on the door it seems to stretch upward or I was shrinking. The thoughts were back again.

' _What if she's too busy or doesn't want me here now that I'm late? What if she thinks I'm toying her and that makes her angry? What if she hi-'_

" _No!"_ I hiss. "She's not like him. Yang will never be like him!"

I shake off the voice and reach for the door and knock twice before waiting. There's muffled voice behind the door and several low thumps. I get giddy and nervous. The handle jiggles once or twice before the door swings open.

The mess of blonde hair tells me it's Yang as the door continues to open up.

"Yang, I'm so sorry for being late and- OH, MY GODS YOU'RE NOT WEARING A SHIRT!" I slap my hands over my eyes, face, and neck turning red.

When the door fully opened, Yang is standing there in sweatpants and a sports bra. Showing off every muscle and curve on her body.

Yang's chuckled. "Here princess let me help you." She took my other hand and guides me inside. The door shuts behind me.

"Ya know you can look, right? I don't mind beautiful eyes watching me." Yang says. Her words are smooth like butter.

I'm trembling. ' _Gods, I don't if she's flirting with me or she's just saying that to say it!?'_

Warm fingers slither into my palm and pull my hand away from my eyes. The light pours in as well as Yang's smiling face. "There we go! That wasn't so hard now was it!"

I try to focus on something, _anything,_ but Yang's body. The posters on the wall, the messy desks, but nothing seems to work. My eyes are always drawn back to Yang.

"I forgot to tell you that you look nice."

"Th-thanks, you look nice too, er… yeah...good!" My face is burning hot when fumbling with my words.

She's about to say something else but is cut off by another voice. "Yang! Quit terrorizing the girl and get back in here!"

"That would be Blake. Come on, I'll introduce you!"

Her room is nearly identical to mine except for the microwave and the fact that seniors get bigger dorms… and the mess clothes all over the floor.

She leads me to the bathroom where a girl in black skinny jeans and white blouse is sitting the toilet with a cloth in her hand. The thing that sticks out to me the most are the fluffy black cat ears on her head and the annoyed look on her face.

"Blake," Yang says with gusto in her voice. "This is-

"Your girlfriend. I know. Just come here so I can disinfect the scrapes on your back." Blake cuts her off.

' _Girl...girlfriend? Yang and I aren't technically_ together, _together… right?'_ Yang's shoulders slump as she gives a hurt puppy look. The look isn't very fitting for her though. Blake ignores the look and waves her over. Yang grumbles, steps up to her roommate, plops down criss-cross, facing my direction.

I feel a bit out of place when watching Blake clean Yang's wounds. There are two or three bruises her arms and torso. It takes all the willpower I have to not move my gaze up a couple inches up from her abs.

Yang catches my staring and snickers. "Like what you see?"

"Yes- NO! I- I mean…"

A loud popping sound fills the air. Yang winces in pain, rubbing her head with tenderness. Blake had smacked her on the head.

Blake turns her attention to me. "Sorry, but she can be an idiot at times." I smile weakly and give a nod as thanks.

"Ow," Yang mumbles, still tending the bump on her head.

Blake pours up disinfectant on the cloth and dabs it on the red skin. Yang hisses in disapproval, arching her back to try and get away from the sting, but no such luck. She squirms every now and then.

"Quit moving, you big baby," Blake grumbles.

"If it were you?" Yang says through gritted teeth. "You'd be doing the same thing."

I wince when Yang yelps in pain. She knocks over the disinfectant bottle when pulling away from Blake, dabbing her fingers on her back wound.

"Sorry, Yang. That's a bad one." Blake informs.

"Damn, I know that." She hisses. "I think we're going to have to bandage that one up."

Blakes' ears flatten on her head. Something tells me that helping Yang get patched up was a bad experience for Blake.

"Here, Weiss." Blake gets up and hands me the cloth. "Maybe you'll have better luck than I do at cleaning Yang's wounds meanwhile I'm going to find the bandages."

Blake leaves the room with only me and a half-naked Yang inside. I look at her, she looks back.

A sly grin comes into play. "Ya know, I remember you being taller when I first met you." She says standing with a grunt.

Yang steps up to me. She's easily a head and a half taller than me. That leaves my gaze just above chest height.

She rests a hand on her hip, the other on my head and lifts it off to measure me. A broad smile splits across her face and looks down at me. "So, how's the view down there short stuff!" Yang giggles.

"H-hey," I squeak. "Don't call me short." I give Yang a playful push.

She chuckles when taking a step back to keep her balance, but, as luck would have it, she steps on the disinfectant bottle and slips. Yang yelps when I grab her arm to try and help her up, but gravity had other plans. Yang falls back, head missing the toilet by inches and I fall on top of her. While all of this happening, my eyes are squeezed shut. Yang groans in pain. I'm lucky, or not so lucky, to land on top of her. Everything just felt so squishy and soft.

"Are you okay, Weiss?" Yang groans.

When I speak my voice is a muffled mess. I didn't know if it was my ears or my mind playing tricks on me from the haze of falling.

"You might want to get your face out of my boobs before speaking." Yang giggles.

' _B-b-b… BOOBS!?'_ I snap up, face red hot. The first thing that my eyes lock on to is Yang's ample bust that softened the fall for me.

I scrabble off of her. "I-I… I- I'm sorry for pushing you." I stumble over my words _and_ adjusting my glasses. Yang sits up with a chuckle and I continue to ramble. "I just wasn't expecting you fall or slip on the bottle-"

"Weiss." She says, but I keep talking.

"I was just trying to help you not fall over or anything so you wouldn't hurt yourself more and-"

"Weiss?"

"Gravity just pulled me down with you and- and I wasn't expecting to face plant in your-

"WEISS!" Yang growls grabbing my wrist tightly.

 _I gasp, eyes widening. When I look up to face Yang it's not her… it's my stepfather._

" _N-no you're… you're dead." I whimper._

" _Dead?" He growls yanking me closer. I could smell the alcohol ebbing from him. "You bitch, I am a part of you whether you like it or not." His grip tights._

 _I squirm and twist my arm, trying to break free, but the raging alcoholic brought his hand up and brought it down with a powerful swing, backhanding me across the face. I see stars as my head swims. Stumbling to the hard marble, cheek burning, tears in my eyes._

" _YOU'RE A WORTHLESS SLUT! YOU HEAR ME!" He roars._

" _Pl… please, I'm… so-sorry…" I whimper._

" _No, I'm tired of your apologies!"He growls. The echoing glass breaking in the background sends a shiver down my spine._

'No, No, NO! Not again! NOT AGAIN.' _I'm powerless as he stands above me with a broken glass bottle of wine. I try to hold up my hands up to defend myself, but he shoves me down. The air is knocked out of my lungs. He uses one hand to keep mine above my head and a knee is rammed into my gut to keep me still. I yelp when more force is applied to my ribs._

" _You need to learn your place-_

" _PLEASE! DON'T!"_

" _Even if that means-!"_

" _STOP!"_

" _I have to start from the inside OUT!"_

" _I'M SORRAHHHH!"_

 _The sharp end of the of the bottle comes down on the right side of my waist, cutting in deep. He removes the blood-tipped bottle from my side and gets ready to bring it down again. I'm too weak to defend myself and I watch the bottle come down once more. Only this time it's stopped by a man in a clean white suit and a metal hand stops him._ Ironwood. _As the blood oozes out of me, my life fades and darkness falls._

"Weiss!"

My eyes snap open. There's an itching, burning feeling in my side. Yang's looking at me and Blake above her. They both have a concerned look on their faces.

"Weiss?" Yang shutters.

Sweat covers my body. When I sit up a headache rushes my brain. Everything is a swirl, a roller coaster, a blur. I can't focus it's all too much, too much!

I scramble to my feet, rush out of the bathroom, out of the dorm and down the hall, away from everything. Away from Yang. I run and run and run… and I don't look back.

It's locked. Everything is locked. I checked and double-checked. I felt the bathroom light on just in case. On nights like this one, when I get flashbacks of that monster, I would leave the light on so I could see the room. My small self is curled up in a ball, hugging a pillow close to my chest. Tears stained and snotty. The covers pulled all the way up to my chin. All the blankets I owned were piled onto the bed to keep me warm, but no matter how many layers I put on I was still cold and the burn… was still there.

I tried too hard to get rid of that memory and it just keeps crawling back into my mind. It haunts me. Just like he said… he's a part of me, of my memory, whether I liked it or not. I wanted it all to go away, but no matter how many tears I cried, how many times I crawled away, or screamed my heart out… _He_ was always there. Like a weed that I could never get rid of. No matter how much poison I poured into it the weed would always grow.

There's a soft knock on my dorm door. I wince when I hear the voice.

"Weiss?" Yang says. I could hear the concern in her voice. "Are you okay?"

I curl up more because of the tightening in my chest and try to bite back the sob.

"Come on, I know you're in there." She grumbles before sighing. "Please… let me help you."

' _Please… just… just go away. I don't want you to help me. I don't want you to see me like this. No one is supposed to see me like this.'_ I can't hold back the sob that is now choking me. I bury my face the pillow and let myself cry. "Please… Yang…leave."

" _Yang? Who's Yang?"_ The slurred voice asks.

I snap up from the bed. A dark shadowy figure stands in the corner of the room. I didn't need to guess who it is. The drunken monster is back.

" _Who is she!?"_ He growls stepping into the light. His white suit a mess and wine stained. The broken glass bottle is still in his hand. The burning feeling is now hurting my side and with every step he takes it burns more.

"You… you're not real. You're not real! Go AWAY!" I scream

" _Oh, I'm very real young lady."_

"Weiss!?" Yang calls. "Open the door!"

I scrabble out of bed and reach for the knob. The glass is pushed up to my back." _You open that door and I give you another scar to match the first."_

"Weiss! I'm coming in!" The knob starts to violently.

" _You wouldn't you bitch!"_ He roars. There's a loud thump from the door and another.

I squeeze my eyes shut. With only one choice on my mind, a cold sweat rolls down my body. "You're not real." I throw open the door and Yang falls on top me. The alcoholic disappears into the dark and we are left alone again.

"Weiss?" Yang whimpers.

My eyes slide open to make contact with concerning lilac. Yang's hands are planted on either side of my head and my legs are between hers. Tears start to roll down my face and I don't stop them. For once in a long time, I'm not ashamed of crying in front of another person.

"Weiss what's-" I cut Yang off by wrapping my arms around her neck and pull myself up to bury my face in her shoulder.

One arm snakes around my torso, Yangs cooing in my ear. "It's okay princess, I'm here and I'm not going anywhere."

We stay in that position for a good four or five minutes or until my tears stop falling. I'm too tired to get in bed, luckily Yang is able to carry me to bed. She sheds some blankets and crawls in after me. I worm in as close as I can to Yang wrapping my arms. She doesn't stop me like I did this morning. She pulls me close to her heart, running her fingers up and down my back to calm me down.

"Don't worry princess. This dragon will protect you." She says with this tender softness in her voice.

It gives me this warm feeling in chest… But it doesn't last long. The guilt of running from Yang quickly filled my heart. She said she'd help me and I ran. She said she'd be there for me and I didn't believe her. She trusted me but I didn't trust her.

"Y-yang?" I realize she's still not wearing a shirt when my fingers start to dig into her back.

"Yeah,"

"I-... I'm sorry." I say burying my face in her chest.

"No, no, no, you're okay. That's no need to apologize snowflake. I just wish I could teleport into your mind and beat those bad memories out of ya." She starts to stroke my hair as she speaks. "I have a few bad memories too, ya know… I'm sure you've figured out that Ruby and I have different names. My mom died when she gave birth to me. Sometimes I think I'm the reason she died. An infant taking the life of a grown adult sounds crazy, but… it happens." She sighs. Warm air brushes up against my scalp. "My Dad remarried after a year later and not long after that Ruby was born. Summer works as a police officer and my dad is a firefighter. They would try to get home as soon as possible to spend some time with us. But they were so busy with their jobs that we were left at home for long periods of time. I had given up half my childhood and had to mature faster than the others kid so Ruby _could_ have a childhood and be weird and goofy and silly. Ya know, the normal stuff."

I didn't know that normal stuff of having a childhood. I was a shy and quite kid that realized reality faster than most kids that were my age at the time. Everyone had friends. Not me. All my ' _friends'_ were fake rich kids that didn't understand what it was like to have a monster in their homes.

"Uncle Crow, my mom's brother, came to our house in a drunken fit once which is normal for him drunk, but drunk and mad was different. He thought he was being attacked and lashed out at anyone who got close. Got a nasty cut for protecting Ruby. He's in rehab and is doing good now." Yang finished.

For some odd reason, Yang's words touch close to home. We're well connected with each other. She had loss and I had loss. She's been attacked by a drunken man as well as I. What are the odds.

"My point is… I'm here for you Weiss. Anywhere and anytime." She says before kissing the top of my head.

We lay in silence for a good minute until Yang tells me my fingers are still digging into her skin. I instantly retract my arms but Yang stops me.

"Just be gentle, okay."

"O-okay." I hesitate to my hands back on her back.

She puffs out a soft chuckle. "You're really cute when you're shy."

I really hope Yang couldn't tell I was blushing like crazy and I bury myself deeper into her chest which causes her laugh now.

I pop my head. "What?"

"This is the second time you've been buried in my chest." She snickers. "I'm almost starting to think you like my girls."

My face is scalding hot now. I'm struggling to defend myself when all Yang does is giggle.

"Calm down Weissicle. It's just a joke."

"W-Weissicle?" My brows knit together.

"Yeah, it's like a nickname."

"Oh… okay."

"You do not like it?" She asks.

"N-no, I like it!" I spout out.

Yang only giggles. Hearing the sun drop-... no… dragon sounds more fitting for Yang. Her name does translate to little sun dragon. Just like mine translates to white snow or Snow White if you flip the first and last name. It makes to Germans on the whole name sake-... right, got a little off track. The princess and her Dragon does sound fitting for the both of us. I'm her princess and she's my dragon.

"I… I love you, Yang"I mumble.

"I love you too." I hear her reply before falling asleep next to Yang once again.

* * *

 **HAHAHAHAHA! Cute, nervous wreck Weiss is best Weiss. She's just so cute like a puppy that needs to be loved like twenty-four seven. Hope y'all loved the chapter and I'll you the next time I update. Like, comment and subscribe! BYE!**


	7. Chapter 7

**I've lost so much sleep writing this chapter, I CAN'T STOP! Nervous Weiss is best Weiss! Anyway, enjoy the chapter and have a great weekend!**

* * *

When I wake the next day a warm breeze brushes over my collarbone and there's a tightness around my torso. Like a snake coiled around me but not squeezing hard enough to suffocate me. I try to move there's an annoyed growl coming from below me. Someone is unhappy with my movement. Yang had coddled me all night like a little girl and her teddy bear. I didn't mind. I needed her after all and this was a good way for us to get closer to each other… I guess.

I try to wiggle an arm free but a certain dragon wasn't having it. She growls, squeezing my midsection, basically telling me to stop. I wince feeling the pressure grow and being released from it. I try once more to get an arm free. Yang growls and rolls me over, her on top of me now.

The new weight on my body causes a big puff of air to escape my lungs. Yang nuzzles her head into my chest. An asset that was nowhere near as big as hers. I'm not going to say it isn't fair. There are all the things that come with having a big… a… yeah... L-like guys drooling or bending over backwards for her. ' _I bet she feels really confident with a chest like that. To walk down the halls without hearing rude comments about how small you are or other stuff like that. To have every girl envy you for your looks.'_

I sigh. "Lucky…"

Yang groans, giving me another squeeze before waking up. "Morning." She yawns.

"M… Morning."

Yang doesn't move and I too afraid to tell her to. She's enjoying staying close to me it makes my heart flutter.

"Ya know you're really warm." She says. "And you're a good cushion."

Her words send my heart rate soaring through the roof. If I don't get my heart under control than she might notice the change.

"R-really?" I stammer.

"Yeah, you're like the perfect snuggler and pillow at night. We fit so well together."

I ponder her words. We do fit well together. I'm small enough to fit in her arms and she uses me like a child's stuffed animal, gently, with love, and kindness. Yang treated me differently than most people. She treated like glass at times, but for the most part, she treated me like a normal human being. Not some rich girl or a fragile person that could break from a single rude comment, but as an equal. A person! It felt… weird to be treated as such.

Yang got off of me by pushing off her hands and knees, but she still loomed over me. "You're not too big either." She says nonchalantly.

Those few words caused everything in my mind come to a crashing halt. "What?"

Her lilac widened from her mistake. "Er,... I didn't mean-... I wasn't referring to your chest-"

"My chest!?" I cry covering my chest.

"Yeah- Er NO! I didn't mean for it to sound like I'm talking about your chest. It's nice by the way-"

"You've looked at my chest!" I scream.

"N-not just your chest! It's…All of you." Yang stammers. "... I don't think you know how beautiful you are, Weiss."

I bite my tongue to keep myself from yelling at Yang. Her words were making it all the more easier to do. When I don't speak she pushes on.

"You have nice flowing snowy hair, eyes like a snowflake and smooth skin that's fair. It's more than fair… it's actually unfair if you ask me." Yang starts to chuckle nervously at the end of her little speech. "But if you're self-conscious about your body let me personally say that you have nothing to worry about because you _are_ the most beautiful girl I've ever seen."

Hearing all that coming from Yang makes me feel… at ease with myself. Comparing myself to Yang hadn't helped the situation. But if Yang, the girl who can draw more attention than a person spitting fire ever could, is that than it's very touching.

"A-and just because you don't have big boobs doesn't mean you don't have bigger things." She says before getting off me by flopping down on the empty space next to me on her back. "Take your brain for example. You're the smartest person I know and I _know_ a lot of smart people. Ruby, Pyrrha, Blake, and Penny are all big geeks nerds or bookworms once you get to know them!"

A weak giddy smile is twitching on my lips. "You… you think I'm… beautiful and smart?"

She chuckles. "What? Can a person only be one thing? One law? One way? One design?"

"No I… I'm just surprised that you would call me all those things and more. Almost as if you were looking past my skin into my head and heart." It sounds like I'm analyzing data from a computer. It gave Yang all the more reason to actually laugh at me.

When she does the nervous giddy feeling grows. You know, the one that makes me act like an idiot in front her. Yang, for some reason, always had that effect on me almost like magic… Could she be a witch of some sort?

"You're such a big nerd!" She says with a playful tone.

"S-so what if I am!" It's more of a whine than a playful tone. That makes Yang laugh even harder than last time.

My face burns. "S-shut up!" I squeak, trying my best to push Yang off.

"Man, a nerd, and a child. I'm not surprised that it's coming from an under class man." She groans from my pushing.

I'm already tired of pushing and shoving. Yang didn't budge an inch. If anything it brought her closer me until she basically body slammed me. I'm smooshed against the bed and Yang. Don't worry she's only lying on my torso and arms which render me defenseless… maybe I should be worried. The glint in her eyes is a playful happiness one that matches well with her smile.

"How ya holding up, Weiss?"

"H-heavy…" I gasp.

I watch as a small piece of that lovely glint fades away. I had struck a nerve with Yang's past.

She tries to play it off by laughing and getting off of me. "Sorry, guess I can get kind of carried away."

You can tell from a mile away that she's acting out of character now. It's almost unsettling to me knowing that keywords can set someone off from their normal personality.

I sit up. "Yang? I didn't offend you… did I?"

"Nah." Yang shrugs. "Just some dumb old trigger word."

"Trigger word?"

"Yeah, it's… a word from your past that makes you think about a specific moment in time." She explains while setting herself in a criss-cross position, facing me.

"So it's like triggering a past event in your mind, but with words and not actions."

"Yep," Yang pops the 'p'. "See, I told ya you're smart."

A smile tugs at my lips, but it doesn't form because of the guilt in my gut for making Yang remember a hard point in her life.

She sighs. "I think this bothering you more than it is me. So, here's what I'm going to do." Yang scooches over next to me. "I'll explain to you why 'heavy' is a trigger word for me and you," she pokes my head playfully. "Tell me what I did to cause an episode for you last night so I don't do it again. Deal!"

I'm not too thrilled to tell her about my abusive stepfather. It would be the first time that I've openly talked to someone else other than a psychiatrist or a doctor about it ever. I look at Yang for a long minute knowing that she's just trying to help me out. That's what friends er… whatever we are… t-the point is that we are there for each other no matter what.

That thought didn't make me feel any better knowing that I ran last night. But Yang was there for me and now is my chance to be there for her.

"Deal."

Yang's PoV

" _Ew! Is that a bra you're wearing?" one girl shrieked._

 _Her outburst caught the attention of nearby kids on the playground. My face burned red hot with embarrassment. I tug on the collar of my oversized jacket to try and the strap as best to my ability but it was no use. One boy in black attire came up from behind, pulled on the strap and let go of it. The strap popped against my back and I yelped from the small sting._

" _Xiao-long is top heavy!" A girl giggled. Her pink tail wiggling back and forth._

 _A circle of kids formed around me. Pointing, laughing and giggling. Calling me a whore or a slut. I didn't understand what those words meant until later on in life. They all soon started cheering top heavy, top heavy, Yang's top heavy. I was sinking into the loud cheers._

" _Please leave me alone." I whimper pulling on my jacket until my knuckles are white._

 _The laughter grows louder clouding my head with anger. The boy from earlier tries to come back and pull on the strap again, but I stop him with a right hook to the jaw. A tooth comes flying out of his mouth. The kids scream terror and disband, running like chickens without heads. All the chaos catches the attention of a teacher._

" _Hey! What's going on?" She demands._

 _I gasp and scramble to get away, scraping my knee in the process. The teacher yells at me to stop when I burst there the school doors and run as fast as I can down the halls._

 _I'm winded when I make it to my hiding spot. The girl's bathroom farthest away from the playground. Unknowing that someone was in there at the time I let myself slump against the wall and cry. It's the only sound that is heard in the bathroom until a stall squeaks open._

 _I gasp and hold my breath, watching the door swing open slowly. An amber eye peeks around the corner._

" _H-hello?" I try to sound strong, but my emotions betray me._

 _The girl comes out of the stall. A nice big black bow sat on top of her head. It's the only thing I remember from her outfit._

 _I stand up. "You've come to pick on me too!"_

 _She winces in fright. My screwed up face fades into a scowl as I sit back down, hugging my knees to my chest. She watches me but keeps her distance._

" _Your hurt." She gasps._

" _Yeah, so what?" I growl._

 _The ruffling of fabric catches my attention. The girl had removed her bow. Fluffy black ears twitched from how much space they had now._

" _You're a faunus?" I sound harsh when speaking. She winces again, ears flattening against her head. Shame blooms inside me when I realize that I'm taking my anger out on some girl who is just trying to help me. "S-sorry… I'm a little mad…"_

 _She's quiet for a minute. "Let me bandage up your knee."_

" _But you'll ruin your bow," I say_

 _She shrugs walking up to me and kneeling down. I stick out my leg for her to look at. The girl wrapped up the wound, knotting it like a bow. She helps me up. I bend my knee a couple times to test it out._

" _Wow, thank you… um…"_

" _Blake."_

 _I smile. "Blake, I'm Yang." I stick out a hand for her to shake. She takes my hand and we shake._

"It was the first time at my new school that someone didn't care if I was more developed than my age group. Of course, I still got picked and got in trouble with that Adam kid more times than I could count." I say rubbing my neck. "I'm still sensitive about my chest, ya know. It's like people don't see me as a person. They see me as a pair of boobs or something which is creepy and degrading."

Weiss kept her eyes on me the whole time. She didn't interrupt or ask questions she just listened which made a good feeling form in my stomach.

"These," I gesture to my chest. "Have been a problem for me a long time, but I'm not saying I hate my body. I love it with all my heart. I just wish people would look at me like a person."

Weiss taking my hand in hers. "I see you as a person just like how you treat me as a person." Her words put a smile on my face. "An-and for the record I'm… kind of… jealous of… you know…" She swallows hard, trying to find the courage say chest. I mean it's not a hard word to say. She is a shy girl though.

I chuckle. "Weiss, bigger isn't always better." My chuckle morphs into a laugh watching Weiss' face turn crimson in a second.

"I-I… I suppose you're right," she whispers.

"You better darn believe it!" I exclaim.

The blush soon fades. Weiss is now waiting for me to ask a question. A question that has been on my mind ever since the night before when she asked me about the skin on skin. It's been itching my brain for a short time but that still didn't make it bothersome.

"So… can you tell me why you freaked and ran out on me and screaming like someone was attacking you last night?"

Weiss squeezes my hand. I squeeze back to show her that I'm here.

"I… It's not a pleasant memory." She mumbles. I know from the first word that she would have a hard time telling me this story. "My mother remarried at the time of this. Jacques Schnee was a subtle man at first. He didn't show any signs the topical drunk man with an anger issue and a side of greed and lust for power. He didn't talk much to Winter or me, but soon after Winter had left for the secret services, he struck me. At first, I thought was because of how stressful his day was. It happened nearly every three or four months. When my Mother had fallen ill it made things all the more worse. He would come home drunk and angered. Glass broke, maids and butlers fired, screaming matches and of course the normal beatings and threats. Jacques was an abusive monster… on-one day he came up to my room with an empty bottle of wine," Weiss shutters. I could see the memory flash in her tear-filled eyes. A hand cupped over her mouth to keep the sob from escaping. "He-... I've never seen him so ang- angry before."

The dam broke and the tears flowed. I pull Weiss into my lap. Her legs wrap around my waist and she buries her wet face into my shoulder, her cries vibrate my heart. My aching heart, a heart that fell for someone who needs so much love to fix the shattered glass of a mirror. I hold her close to me long after the last tear falls, I hold her like she's the last thing I'll lose in life. There was nothing I could do to get rid of the horrible memories of her past.

Weiss is a choking mess when trying to speak. "I- He… he broke the… the bottle an-and he-"

"Shh. You don't have to think about the rest, Weiss. He's not here and you don't have to tell me what happens next." I speak with all the softness and tenderness I can muster to calm her.

We stay in the embrace for however long she needed me to. The choking fades to hiccups and hiccups to small gasps for air and then a sniffling silence.

"Remember when I told you my uncle came to our house one night a drunken haze," I say softly. "I usually let him in to sleep on the couch until the next morning, but that night was different. He was yelling and screaming. Qrow looked like a wild animal when he forced his way into our house. Ruby was only five so she didn't remember much about the incident. I, on the other hand, remembered it clearer than glass." I pause, letting Weiss take in the information. "He was too drunk to see clear, thinking we were demons from his past coming to get him. Qrow did what any other drunk man would do, he lashed out in fear. I knew that if he got anywhere near Ruby than he could kill her so I did what most seven-year-olds wouldn't do and held him back with only a plastic bat and the fear of losing my sister." I scoffed now that I look back on the memory. "It didn't do much. My uncle had a knife and carried it sloppily and swung it like his arm was a wet noodle. Got a deep cut on my cheek and… yeah… Ruby was able to call Summer. She showed up in a heartbeat along with dad. I was taken to a hospital and Qrow went to jail for assault… He's in rehab by the way." I decided to give Weiss the shortened version, leaving out other details that I didn't want to touch on at the moment.

Weiss pulls away to look me in the eye. "I'm sorry for what happened to you at a young age."

I shrug. "It's an old memory… someday it'll fade away."

She smiles weakly."Maybe we… could replace the bad ones with the ones we make now."

"I would like that," I say, cupping her smooth damp cheek.

She shutters from the touch. I pull my hand away, but she stops me by holding my hand in place her own. She leans into the warm touch like a dog when scratching their ear. The only thing I can focus on is her perfect pink lips. Instinct kicks in and I lean in close, eyes drooping.

The moment is ruined when Weiss speaks six simple words. "I- I don't know how to kiss."

I retreat, brows knitted together. Weiss is back to being a nervous wreck. The same nervous wreck that I fell for. She has this worried look on her face like she messed up for not knowing how to kiss someone.

I couldn't contain the smile or the laugh bubbling up in my throat. I laugh so hard that my stomach starts to constrict, lungs wheezing for air, tears forming at the corner of my eyes. Weiss is left confused for a moment which makes it all the funny. All the more funny? All the funnier? Yeah, all the funnier. That sounds right.

"What's so funny?"

"You… don't know… how to kiss." I try to stifle my laughter.

Her face morphs into a pout and she crossed her arms. "I'm sorry th-that I don't have any dating experience!"

"Or kissing experience!"

She pushes me though it feels like a pebble being thrown at a rock. "Sh-shut up!"

"Okay, okay. Calm down princess."

'Rude." She mumbles.

I snicker at her childlike demeanor and pull her back in, resting my forehead against hers. "How about a little peck on the cheek?" I ask, a fruitiness in my voice.

She's trembling again. "I… I-I don't know… h-how to-"

"That's why it's on the cheek and not on the lips," I say jokingly.

She whines in despair. As if kissing someone on the cheek would be the hardest thing to do in her life.

"J-just one k-kiss… Right?"

"Yep!" I pop the 'p' and tap my cheek. "Just one kiss."

Her nervous look makes me want to squeal like a little kid with a new toy. "Th-then don't look."

"Okay," I'm not going to question it. Weiss is just nervous I know it already.

I close my eyes, letting my imagination run wild for a minute but I'm still paying attention to the world around me. Warm air brushes against my cheek and my heart starts to pound in my chest, something that happens when I get excited. My mind and heart are in full throttle when soft smooth warm lips push against my cheek. Now everything in my body connects with the simple touch. Weiss pulls away leaving this cool feeling on my cheek like drinking cold water on a hot summer day. It leaves me wanting more. To take in every drop, every feeling, every scent of her. I wanted her.

The touch of her lips fade and I'm pulled back into real life. "Wow… That was… wow!" I breathe.

Weiss is rubbing her knee in nervousness. "Di-... Did I do good?"

' _Did you do good? You did great! For just a kiss on the cheek that was great! It was better than great! It was… It was… extraordinary! A thrill!'_ I thought of all the things to say, but instead, I simply say the dumbest thing on the planet.

"Yeah."

' _Yeah, it was just yeah, Weiss. It wasn't some thrill or extraordinary experience, it was just… yeah. UGH! Yang, you idiot!'_ I scold myself internally.

We don't talk about the small kiss, but it's a step forward for Weiss which means one step closer to an actual kiss.

"So… Uh," I rub my neck, trying to keep myself from kissing her right then and there. "Are you doing anything today or…"

She's silent for a moment. "Well I have to go- OH, MY- THE HOSPITAL!" Weiss springs out of bed, grabs her glasses and dashes to the closet. "Oh no, nonononono… Uh, I'm sorry Yang, but I'm seeing my-... my stepfathers' co-workers' wife today to wish her luck in a medical procedure and it's all the way in Atlas, so I wouldn't be able to see you until late at night."

I shrug. "It's fine… well, I guess I'll get out of your hair then."

"What about my hair?! Is it a mess?!" She panics. I guess she's too focused on getting ready to listen to what I said.

"No, no. Your hair is beautiful. I'm just letting you know that I'm leaving." I groan getting off the bed.

"O-oh, thank you… uh, for the company and the talk." She calls out as I walk through the door, shutting it behind once fully outside.

I sight, then groan, and then grumble. All because of the swirl of emotions inside me like a tropical storm that's tearing me apart. I sigh again and head to my dorm.

There were questions that I have not gotten an answer for. I understood now why Weiss didn't want to be touched, but I never thought she had been abused so much that she would quiver in fear from the simplest touch.

I open the door to Blake in the middle of changing. She doesn't bat a signal eye at me.

"How is she doing?" Blake asked. You guys and gals might not know this, but Blake is a big softy at times. She can be… hard to deal with sometimes, but when it comes down to raw emotions, she's a good person to talk to.

"Uh, she's fine for the most part… I just wish I could help her more." I say.

Blake turns to me with a solemn smile. "You're doing the best you can, Yang."

My expression turns sour. "I don't feel like I'm the best I can. It feels like I'm always missing something."

Blake sighs. "Sometimes I think your heart is bigger than your brain."

I ignore her comment and get ready for the day.

* * *

 **Man, two chapters in one week!... So the next one will be a bit longer if I don't say up until three in the morning. Okay, I'll see ya the next time I upload. So like, comment, and subscribe! BYE!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Sorry for the long wait guys. I got caught up in school and track and other stuff. I hope y'all aren't mad that this is a shorter chapter than what I promised, but I'll try my best to upload the next chapter as soon as possible. Anyway enjoy!**

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Weiss' PoV

"Good morning Miss Schnee." Klein greets me, holding the door open to a white car. Not everyone travels around in a limo you know.

I smile. "Good Morning Klein."

I step into the car, thank him and we head to the airport. From there, I get on a private plane going straight to Atlas. By car, it would take all day to get there, but with a plane, it only took two and a half hours. A car is waiting for me when we land. The driver ushers me into the car that is taking me to my last destination. The hospital.

A nurse greets me at the entrance, but doesn't waste time and takes me to my mother hospital room.

"She just came out of surgery, so it'll take some time for her to wake. When she does, please call one of the nurses so we can do a quick checkup." The nurse instructs me.

I nod in understanding. She opens the door to a white light filled room just like rest of the hospital everything was white and bright and, to be honest, annoying. It bothers me when a place like this has no color for the sick and hurt to enjoy.

The beeping of a heart monitor, slow and steady, tells me that she is here. Here and alive! My heart starts to ache when I lay my eyes on the sickly woman in bed, covered in a white blanket and a white robe.

Mother looks so peaceful and calm when she sleeps. Like the pain inside her doesn't exist, like she isn't fighting for her life.

I heart burns now. I drag out a chair, sit down next her, taking her thin-skinned hand into mine.

"I'm sorry mother. I'm so, so sorry." I whimper.

" _Come now, Weiss. It's bedtime." Mother giggles watching me jump up and down on my bed._

" _But I'm not tired, mommy!" I exclaim._

 _Mother slips off her heels and crawls on my bed. "Well, I suppose the tickle monster will have to put you to bed!"_

 _She thrusts her arms out and snatches me up. I squeal and scream in excitement. Her fingers lightly glaze over my belly and armpits causing me to burst with laughter. I squirm and thrash around trying to break free from her grasp. Mother's lips connect with my neck and she blows a raspberry. My neck shrivels up and I pull away to try and get her to stop, but it's hard for my giggling self to do so._

 _Mother finally stops. "Is Snow White ready for bed?" She asks._

 _I'm sitting her lap, winded. "Aw,... not really." I try to stall._

" _Weiss?" She drags out my name with a raised brow._

" _Maybe a little."_

 _Mother giggles at how easily I gave into her. I didn't like lying, but if I'm able to spend more with mother than I would._

"Mirror, tell me something, Tell me who's the loneliest of all?~" _Mother sang._

 _Her voice a brisk storm hidden behind a soft cotton voice._ "Mirror, tell me something, tell me who's the loneliest of all? Fear of what's inside of me; Tell me can a heart be turned to stone?" _She sings until I fall asleep to her lulling voice._

The memory is short, but I know every detail, every word, and every breath. I didn't understand the lyrics when I was young, but looking back on it now I understood perfectly.

My hand is given a small squeeze. "... Weiss…" a raspy voice mumbles.

My eyes snap open to fading blue eyes. "Mother!" I breathe. "Mother, how are you?"

She silent for what felt like hours. Mother cups my cheek and wipes the tears away."... Weiss, if everything goes well then I'm able to come home." She croaks.

A small smile comes across my face and I hold her cupped hand against my cheek. "Winter would be thrilled to see you up and about again." Mother giggles. Something I haven't heard in a long time that it's foreign to my ears.

"I must inform the nurse that you are awake-"

"Can I not have some alone time with my daughter. I was hoping we could catch up, maybe you can tell me if you've found a nice boy to date yet." She says with this mischievous glint in her voice.

My mind stops computing properly. I didn't think that my dating life or whatever you call it would be the first thing for her to ask me. She also specifically asks me if I had found a boy yet. Yang's not a boy, she's a… well… a she. "Uh…"

Mother pulls her hand away. "Have you not found a boy, Weiss Schnee?" She almost seems surprised.

How do I explain this to my mother? I can't say 'Well I'm dating this girl, but we're not actually dating, we're more like best friends who share everything… friends with benefits?' Er… maybe not that last part. I could dance around the truth. Oh, but lying will nack me all day!

"We… we're not dating," I start. It's not too far from the truth I suppose. "We're just… testing the waters to see if… you know… we like each other." Oh, who am I kidding! Yang and I are basically together! She likes me and I like her and there is nothing that will change my mind.

"And who is this other half of the 'we'?"

"She-" I immediately bite my tongue, cursing internally. Mother's expression doesn't change to shock or disappointment but I knew. I let my face fall into my hands. Wanting to shrivel up and disappear.

I felt ashamed. Mother always wanted me to find a nice man to marry and settle down with, but it looks like I am breaking another promise to her.

"Is _she_ a good person, Weiss?" Mother doesn't sound disappointed if she was then she is doing a good job of hiding it.

My hands are wet when I pry them from my face. Tears leak from my eyes. I sniffle. "I'm… I'm sorry mother-" she stops me from speaking with a hand.

"Weiss, I simply asked if you're... friend, I suppose, is a good person." Mother smiles weakly.

She's better than good. She's… she's breathtaking and smart and funny and… and wholehearted. There are so many words to describe Yang I could only choose one though.

I wipe my tears away with a tissue that came from a nearby tissue box."She's wholesome… in a way." I say, not too sure of my word choice.

Mother doesn't speak which pushes me to explain myself. "Yang is a kind girl who respects my boundaries and sees me as a person. She's a senior and will be graduating this year from Beacon University. She's a boxer and is well minded of her surroundings and others feelings… Yang is free-spirited as well if I might add."

Mother sighs. "At least she's gotten out you out of your room… I'm glad to hear that this 'Yang' has associated herself with you."

I'm glad that she hasn't said anything other than Yang helping me come out of my room and that she sees Yang as a friend, not something else. I don't think I would have the heart to tell mother I'm a lesbian.

I cover my mouth to hide the surprised gasp that escaped my lips. The truth came out after so long of being broken and unable to figure myself out. I found a piece of the broken mirror and put it back in its rightful place. It felt… good.

"When will I be able to meet this lovely young woman who caught my daughter's eye?"

I twiddle my thumbs. "It's more like she caught me," I mumble.

"Oh," Mother raises a brow. "Is this one of those damsels in distress stories! How exciting! A Knight coming to your rescue!"

Mother always is a fan of knights coming to save the princess, kill the dragon, become king and queen and live out the rest of their days in peace. It's sadly ironic that it took mother the longest time to finally find true love. After all these years she's still optimistic as ever.

"So tell me how your knight in boxing gloves came to save you?" She asks.

At least I know mother doesn't mind Yang being a boxer. "Well… She's more of the dragon protecting me from the knight."

"How so?"

"Yang has this warm personality, her name also translates to little sun dragon-"

"-And your's Snow White."

"-Right, so I thought it would more fitting if Yang's my dragon and I'm her princess." The more I speak the more I start to sound like a kid again.

Mother giggles softly at my analysis of Yang and I. I think it's also because she loves to see her daughter act as a goofy nerdy kid again. Gaping about awesome fairy tales and so on.

I realize my life is like a fairy tale, instead of being saved by a knight and live a castle full of rules and nasty people, I'm protected by a dragon and travel the kingdom with freedom.

"Moth-"

"Miss Schnee, you're awake!" A deep voice says with little surprise in his tone.

I turn to face the man in the doorway. He has on what every other doctor has on. White. Doctor Boston is mother's surgeon. He also makes sure everything in on time, well thought out, and carefully calibrated.

"Dan Boston, I thought I would see you later as in four months later for our next surgery, that is if I need one?" Mother, though, seems more surprised that he.

"I come to feel you the news," he pauses for effect. He does it a lot of times. "... you better start to call the maids, tell them to make a nice breakfast in a few short months." He smiles.

My eyes widen hearing the news. ' _Mother is… coming home…'_ tears well up, blurring my vision. I turn back to mother with the broadest smile I can muster.

She sighs and smiled back.

The flight back to Vale is more enlightening than on the way to Atlas. This burden of mother never leaving has been lifted from my heart and soul. A contempt smile has been on my face ever since I left the hospital.

' _Winter and Dice will be happy to hear that mother is leaving the hospital!'_ I thought, fingers ghosting over the palm of my hand.

A sudden buzz in my jeans pocket causes me to jump a bit. I quickly fish out my phone to see who it is. In bold letters is Yang's name although I know it's not her. I stumbled upon Ruby's number when I replaced Yang's last two numbers with random digits that I guessed to the best of my abilities.

A few taps on the screen and I change the name Ruby and reply to her message.

R: _Hey! Weiss! I just wanted to know how the date went last night?_

A tinge of guilt forms in the pit of my gut. I know lying is bad but I had to think of something to get Ruby to tell me where Yang lived. Now the best choice is to cover the hole before digging too deep.

W: _I'm sorry, Ruby, but I haven't been honest with you. Yang and I haven't gone on a date yet. I understand if you are mad at me for lying to you._

I read the message over and over just to make sure nothing is wrong with my wording. I send the message with caution, hoping she will not be mad. The blinking dots make me nervous.

 _Nah, I'm not mad. Yang told me everything this morning what happened last night. I'm glad you told me the truth, though I really was hoping that you two would go on a date._ She replies.

My eyes widened at the second sentence. Yang told her everything as in my past everything. This must be a crude joke or something; Yang would never do that.

I frantically type back. _What did she tell you?_

 _Yang told me you came over to her place meet Blake then you two went back your place. She replies quickly_

I release a breath of air that I didn't know I was holding in. Yang didn't tell Ruby everything. Thank goodness Yang kept my past a secret.

 _So, how did you get my number in the first place?_ Ruby types.

I sigh to myself and type back. _It's kind of embarrassing. Yang gave me her number, but I nearly washed it off my arm when taking a shower. So I had to guess some numbers and I ended up with yours._

I can already picture Ruby snickering, texting a teasing joke back, but she didn't.

 _Haha, I don't know if you're the luckiest or unluckiest person ever. Do you want me to give you Yang's number?_

She's more lighthearted about the incident than I thought. I reply with a _yes, please_ to her question.

Ruby sends me Yang's number. I copied it and put it in my contacts and name her little sun dragon. A half smile tickles my lips when I finish the name.

 _Thanks, Ruby!_

 _Hey, no problem._ I imagine her shrugging like her sister.

I leave our conversation at that and text Yang to make sure that Ruby sent me the right number. _Hello, Yang. This is Weiss. I'm just texting to make sure this is the right phone number. Sorry to bother you if it's not._ I read the message before sending.

The dots appear not too long after the message is sent. _Sup princess. How ya doin'?_

I sigh in relief, knowing that it's Yang and not someone else's number that Ruby might have sent me on accident.

 _I'm great! My mother-_ I stop. ' _Do I want to tell Yang that my mother is in the hospital? I did tell her it was a co-worker from our company and not someone closer to home. What if she isn't as understanding as her sister and-'_ I stop mid-thought. Yang is the most understanding person I know. In all honesty, she's the only person I know at Beacon. I decide to continue the text and tell her the whole story about my mother in the hospital.

 _I'm great! My mother gets to leave the hospital in a month or two. She's been there for six years own and is finally able to come home for good._ I send the message and prepare an explanation for Yang asking about my sickly mother in the hospital and not a co-worker.

 _I thought you went to see a coworker-_ She replies- _But I guess it makes more sense why you were in a huge rush to leave your dorm this morning._

From what I'm reading, Yang doesn't sound mad in the slightest. She would tell me if she would be mad, right? I don't take any chance and ask if she is though. _You're not mad at me for lying to you, are you?_

It takes her a bit longer to reply. _I think I kind of understand why you wouldn't want me knowing about your sick mother. I guess it's because you don't want me to look at you like a wounded animal or that you don't want me to worry about you but I'm just going out on a limb here._

I smile at her text. Yang seems to be the worrying type. She never backs down even with what happened last night, Yang kept pushing to see if I was okay and I'm glad to have someone like that in my life. There are not many people like that in the world today.

 _You got half of it right. I didn't want anyone to know because I want to be treated like a human being and not a wounded animal._

 _I glad you told me the truth, Weiss._

 _And I'm glad you didn't tell Ruby about my past, Yang._

… _how do you know about that?..._

I giggle like the big nerd I am and tell Yang the story of nearly washing her number away. It seems less hard to tell her now that I'm texting her and not facing her in real life

 _Lol! That's why you didn't call or text me to ask where I live! But seriously, what the odds of you getting my sister's number._

I'm confused open reading her first sentence. I wouldn't call it a sentence because I didn't know what the word meant much less know if it was an actual word.

 _What does lol mean?_

 _Haha! Lol means laugh out loud. It's an acronym._

Oh. I feel somewhat dense for not knowing what _lol_ meant. It's one of those common acronyms that everyone that's a teen or somewhere around that age knows. It just goes to show how lonely I've been the last couple of years. But having Yang around is going to change my look on everything. It's almost crazy how one person change another's whole life.

 _So what are you doing right now?_

 _Not much. Just sitting on an airplane, waiting to get back to Beacon. What about you?_

 _Planning our date!_

My eyes bulge at the text. I had completely forgotten about our date this coming Friday. Gods, I forgot to prepare.

 _I was wondering if you have any preferences for a restaurant?_ Yang asks.

' _She's asking for a good restaurant, but all the places I know are expensive and I know for fact Yang is going to want to pay for the both of us.'_ I thought. ' _That's means I'm going to have to choose wisely… or Yang can surprise me?...'_

 _I don't have any preferences._ I type. _Maybe you can surprise me?_

 _Hm, I like the way you think, Schnee. Have a good rest of your flight. It's getting late over here so I'll see you on Friday! Goodnight princess._

Her text makes me blush a little. _Goodnight dragon._ I reply and spend the rest of my time staring out the window.

It's almost past midnight when I make back to my dorm. With the halls lifeless and empty, giving off this eerie feeling that crawls up my spine. When I finally get into my dorm I'm able to relax.

I strip down, crawl into my baggy shirt and sweatpants and go to brush my teeth. When brushing there is a knock on the door. Several questions run through my head when I poke my head out of the bathroom door. The slip of paper is lying face down on the floor makes the alarm bells in my head go crazy.

I spit the paste out, rinse and wait. Five, ten, twenty, thirty. I wait until I'm completely sure that whoever dropped the note had left.

I gulp when approaching the slip I'm hesitant as well when picking it up. My hand trembles when I flip it over. The words make me shudder in terror. In bold black ink are three simple words.

 **You will pay.**

* * *

"You will pay." Ruby reads it out loud. "What do you think it means?"

I shrug. "I wish I knew… it sounds like a threat and it scares me."

Surprisingly, Ruby and I have the same lunch period along with Jaune, Nora, and Ren.

"It could Cardin. You _are_ the reason he got expelled, i-in a way, right?" Ruby says. She cautions to say more about the relationship between Cardin and me.

"It could be him," I pick at my food with a fork, clearly showing interest in the slop on my plate. "But wouldn't security see him?"

"Maybe It was Russell or Dove?" Jaune butts in.

"Maybe… a-anyway, I don't want to talk about it anymore… it'll be the only thing on my mind for the rest of the day." I mumble the last bit, low enough so nobody can hear.

I take a sip water I needed something in my body to keep me going. My stomach groans for more food, but I know too well that it can only tolerate the fresh fruit the and not the sloppy brown mush that's on my plate.

"So, I heard you and Yang are going on a date this Friday!" Nora cheers.

I choke on my drink, water squirts out of my nose. Napkins save me from getting snot water on my clothes, but they can't save me from embarrassment.

"Nora," Ren sighs. "Please try not make our new friend uncomfortable. She's already been through enough."

She giggles an apology. I wave it off and deem the incident an accident as I clear out the rest of my nose.

"It's okay, Ren. She just caught me off guard… I guess…"

"Oooh," Ruby leans in close, too close for comfort, her brows wiggling suggestively. "Are you two really going on a date?"

Answering the question would have been easy if I didn't analyze every possible way that this date, this talk, this on word could cause something to happen. I'm paranoid okay. I could say no and have everyone hate me or I could say yes and run the risk of Yang's and my secret going public.

"Well?"

I shrink in my seat. With every fiber of my being, I whisper one simple word. "... Yes…"

Silence fills the air for a long moment… f-for me at least. Ruby is the first to move. A huge grin creeps up on her face before she pulls me into a hug. I stiffen from her unexpected touch but relax knowing that it's a welcoming touch.

"YES!" She cheers.

"I wonder if the girl shut up now." Nora giggles. "Yang seems to like you a lot. She never stops talking about you!"

"S… seems?" I hesitate to ask.

"Well, I wouldn't say 'seems',"Ruby chirps. "It's more of a fact that she likes you a lot."

"...Oh… so it's… it's obvious that we like each other."

Ruby shrugs. "It's obvious that _we_ know you two like each other, but I don't think the other students would ever think that you and my sister are dating." Then she starts to giggle. "But with the way she's talking about you now? I wouldn't be surprised if the whole knew by the end of the week!"

I shutter. The one thing that I _don't_ want to happen is everyone knowing that Yang and I are together. News like that would spread like wildfire all throughout the school.

Ruby must have noticed my worrying because she gives me an assuring smile. "Hey, don't worry about it, okay Weiss." She rests a hand on my shoulder.

I smile weakly, but nothing can prepare me for Friday.

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 **Sorry again. It's been a rough week for me. Hope y'all enjoyed the chapter And I'll see ya the next time I upload. Like, comment and subscribe. BYE!**


	9. Chapter 9

**So before we get started, I have a couple things to ask and to tell you guys. I'll start with tell. Next week is spring break for me and I will most likely not upload another chapter until spring break is over which means I'm taking a literal break. so don't freak out if you don't see an upload next week. IT DOES NOT MEAN I DIED. Now for the ask. I was wondering if you guys would like longer chapters, but with longer chapter means more wait time. I like to upload as soon as possible so I can stay connected with the story but y'all want something longer I'll try and do it. Anyway hope y'all enjoy the chapter and I'll see ya at the bottom!**

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Yang told me to be ready at five. She didn't tell me why I should be ready so early though I did tell her to surprise me. The week was a slow and boring blur. The only thing that I could remember are the talks Ruby and I had about the note. I also asked her what Yang would like me to wear. Ruby kind of… laughed at that. She told me that Yang is open minded and to just be myself.

"Maybe this wasn't the best thing to wear." I mumbled looking down at my outfit. A nice blue knee length skirt with a white blouse and bae button-up vest, to match my skirt, and a pair of white converse to match.

Cars slowly cruise past me as I wait on Lionheart street for Yang. I check my watch every two or three minutes, tapping my fingers impatiently against my arm. A paranoid feeling forms in my gut and anxiety fills my head. ' _What if she doesn't show? What if she ditched me? Or...or what if she just forgot? Maybe she got too busy to show up?'_

I whine from worry and discomfort. Several guys in a muscle car came driving by just a couple of minutes ago giving me catcalls. All I wanted is for Yang to show up already so those childish boys wouldn't come by and stop this time to talk to me not do something worse.

The slow street roars to life when a yellow and black motorcycle rolls in. The rider revving-up the engine. A couple people look discouraged from the noise but most don't seem to care. The person riding the stylish bike wore a black and yellow helmet to match as well as a black leather jacket. They pulled up next to me which causes my heart to spike.

When they pull off their helmet golden yellow hair comes flowing and my heartbeat now skyrocketing.

"Hey princess." The blonde smiles, her lilac eyes twinkling, skin glows like a morning sunrise and her hair as always is like a golden furnace.

My brain stops functioning as I gaze at a literal supermodel. "H-hi." I muster, the sheepish giddy feeling is back.

Yang pats the extra space behind her, telling me to hop on. I hesitate at first but I'm able to pull myself together and awkwardly settle into the seat. I hold the back of the of the motorcycle leaving some space between the two of us.

"Haha! A first-time rider, I see." Yang says. "Scoot in closer," She ushers me to move forward.

I let go and move forward an inch or two at least. A surprised gasp escapes my lips when she grabs my wrist and laces my arm around her torso. I slowly do the same with my other arm. Now I'm right up against her, stomach against her back, forehead between her shoulder blades.

I squeeze tightly when the motorcycle comes to life once again. Yang tells me to loosen up, but not too loose. She slips the helmet back on, revs the engine and takes off. I keep my eyes shut, cheek pressed against her back, knuckles turning white as I clutch to Yang.

"Hey, loosen up! I'm going slow enough for you to enjoy the ride!" Yang exclaims.

I strain my ears to hear her. ' _Maybe to you this isn't fast but to me, it feels like a roller coaster.'_ I thought.

"I know you won't regret it, Weiss!" I don't want to open my eyes no matter how much she wants me to I will not yield to her suggestion.

The bike slows to a stop. I'm guessing it's a stop sign because the engine doesn't get cut off.

"Hey," Yang nudges me with her elbow. "At least open them for a stop light."

I whimper at first which makes Yang laugh, but I gradually pull open the lids of my eyes up. Lights twinkle everywhere, chatter and movement litter the walkways, buildings as tall as some of Altas' skyscrapers tower over us like glass guardians. Excitement gathers and builds up inside me as I watch the energy of flashing signs of shops, restaurants and ice cream parlors fill the streets and windows of cars.

"Wow!" I breathe.

Everything starts to move, slowly picking up speed until we're at a good steady pace. The movement though doesn't faze me this time. I'm too busy focused on the lights, the people, the energy that gives this wonderful city life.

"Nice ain't it," Yang calls back.

"It's more than nice," I tell myself. "It's beautiful."

Yang turns down a street where most of the restaurants are lined up. Some signs are eye-catching others not so much.

She pulls up onto a curb, parks her bike, hops off then helps me off. "Ma'am." She gestures one arm forward.

The action reminds me of the first time she walked me to my dorm. I giggle and follow her arm to a nice little restaurant called _Wicked Torch: Grill and Bar_.

The word _Bar_ makes me cringe a bit, but I don't show any sign of discomfort. A man stood next to the doorway behind a table taking people's names and or reservations. He looks intimidating with his green spiked hair and tattoos in his neck. The black button up he's wearing looks like it might pop open because of his toned body.

Yang steps up to him while I awkwardly float behind. "Hey, Sage! I was-

He doesn't bat an eye from his writing. "One second, Yang. Neo will be here to escort you to your table."

"But my table is still reserved, right?"

He sighs, it's more of a huff than a sigh. "Why don't you find out. Neo is here to take you to your table now."

A short girl in a well tightly white button-up shirt, black bow and pencil skirt is holding the door open for us. The one thing that stuck out to me the most is her pink and chocolate hair and eyes. It kind of made me feel a bit unsettling, to say the least, haha.

She holds out a hand like Yang did to guide us inside. Once in we wait for her to take us to a table but instead, she takes up a set of stairs to a deck like area. Lights that shine like stars hang over our head. I notice that the deck is empty and only one table is set for two. Food already prepared sat nicely on the table waiting for us.

I'm completely taken by surprise.

"Thanks, Neo." Yang hands the small girl a tip. Neo nods her head and leaves.

Once Neo is gone, Yang walks up to one of the chairs and pulls it out. "Ma'am!"

A foreign smile creeps up on my face. Something that my mouth hasn't done on its own in a long time. A bubbly joyous feeling fizzes up in my belly. I quickly take my seat, Yang pushes in my chair and rushes to in her own chair.

Grilled chicken noodle pasta sat, steaming, on my plate and a salad rested in the middle of the table for both of us to share.

"Yang, this is… it's… it looks so fantastic." I say in near disbelief.

Yang, already eating, swallows her bite and smiles. "My trainer is friends with Roman, the man who owns the restaurant, so he got Roman to pull some strings for me… I guess it helps when you say you're going on a date, hehe."

' _I guess it does.'_ I pick up my own fork and start to dig in. The first bite is juicy and flavorful in my mouth. I hum in delight of the taste before swallowing. I take another bite, this one better than the last.

"So, Weiss I… uh, I wanna get to know you better, but I don't know what to ask," Yang speaks up sheepishly.

I swallow my second bite and think for a moment. "Well… how about I just tell you some things that intrigue me." Yang nods in agreement.

I smile and start with some simple stuff like my favorite food, color, season, hobby and so on. There are some things that I wish I could take back like talking about books, tv shows, and art galleries, Yang didn't seem to mind though. She did ask me what I liked to read. I not going to deny that I'm a nerd when it comes to fairy tales or romance novels and every once in awhile sci-fi stuff pop up.

Yang giggles at how geeky I sound which makes me somewhat embarrassed, she says something. Something that I didn't expect a twenty-three-year-old boxer who literally could lift five thousand pounds and not break a sweat would say.

"I'm a bit of a geek myself. Space shows, dystopian books, action novels are my thing." She starts to giggle. "I remember the only reason I got my first job is because of a limited edition Voltron figure came out and I wanted it so bad."

"Voltron? What's that?"

Yang stops mid-bite and gives me this look like I've murdered someone she loves. "What do you mean you haven't heard of Voltron?! It's this awesome show about lions and people and space and battle and epic fights!" She throws her hands up in excitement. "It's great!"

I giggle at her little spasm. "Are you sure in the nerd here?"

Oh no, princess! You're definitely not the nerd of this relationship if you haven't heard of Voltron."

My smile falters when Yang says relationship. I can't say I haven't enjoyed being with Yang but I don't know if I'm making a rash decision and labeling myself too quickly to be a lesbian. I thought I admitted to myself that I was one but now I'm doubting myself.

I look down at my food silent for a long minute, thinking of what I should ask her."Yang?"

"Hm?"

"... what are we?"

Yang seems to be somewhat confused about my question so I quickly explain. "Like are we… dating a-as in we hold hands and show personal affection toward one another?"

Yang reaches across the table resting her hand on top of mine. I pull up to face her. Yang has this soft warm smile on her face when she speaks.

"We can be whatever you want us to be. We can be best friends or girlfriends or ya know just friends. It's all up to you, Weissicle." Her voice sends a tingling feeling up my spine.

I muster a twitchy smile. "I-... I want to be… with you in a re-relationship." It's hard to speak with an uneven voice.

Yang smile broadens. "I just want you to know that you chased all my worries away, Weiss." Her thumb brushes over my knuckles causing a shot of electricity to run up my arm. "We should probably finish our food. I still have another place I want to take you."

I smile and take another bite, happy to know that this is just the beginning of something will last for a long time.

Once done Yang and I leave the restaurant in a bit of a hurry. She excited for something. Anyone can tell she is.

"Hurry up princess! I'm taking you somewhere nice and loving!" Yang calls out already on her bike, helmet popped in and ready to go.

I snicker at how childish she acts sometimes. "Okay, Yang. I'm coming." I get on not long after her and get in the same position I was in about forty-five minutes ago.

"Hey, Weiss? Can you do me a favor and keep your eyes closed?" Yang askes before revving up the bike and pulled out of the parking spot.

' _She wanted me to have my eyes open and now she wants them closed?... what are you planning Xiao-Long?'_ I thought. I close my eyes and let Yang take us to our next destination. It's not like I have a choice.

"You're gonna love this!" Yang cheers picking up speed.

After a couple of stops and honks the city lights and sounds fade. I start to wonder she has planned for me. The smell of salt fills my nose. The salty smell grows stronger as Yang starts to slow to a stop. The bike cuts off and I feel Yang hop off. I begin to open my eyes but Yang stops me using her hand to cover them back up. I gasp in surprise.

"Hehe, sorry, Weiss." She says sheepishly. "I should have told you to keep them closed." Yang helps me off the bike. "Although you should pop off your shoes."

Yang guides me to a nearby bench, sits me down and start to untie my shoes. I tell her I can do it myself, but her stubbornness won't let me. She takes her own shoes and scoops me bridal style. I yelp in surprise while Yang chuckled.

"Are you going to tell me where we are?" I asked wrapping my arms around her neck.

"Not yet!"

Wood creaks from Yang steps which turns into the sound of sand getting crunched. I hear water rolling over itself, crash into the sand, pull back and repay the process again.

"Yang, can I open my eyes now?" I whine like an impatient kid on Christmas Day.

She tells me once again 'Not yet.' Yang sets me down. Damp sand worms it's way between my toes as I sink into it.

"Don't move!" She says though she sounds distant.

I do as I'm told and don't move, listen to the waves crash against the sand once aga- _oh no!_

Water rolls over my feet to my ankles sending a tinge of cold up my legs. I yelp, Yang laughs. I jump out of the water faster than I've ever moved before.

"YANG!" I whine.

Her golden hair shimmers in the moonlight when she's finally able to settle down. "Sorry… pri… princess!" She musters through wheezing breaths.

I cross my arms and grumble. "Rube."

She comes walking over to me, slips of her jacket and lays it in the sand. Yang plops down on it and pats the empty area for me to sit on. I oblige and sit down next to her, resting my head on her shoulder.

Yang breathes out a contempt sigh. "I thought you'd like the beach." A cool ocean washes over us. Yang pulls me in closer when she feels me shiver. "Ruby, Mom, Dad and I would come for vacation as much as possible. I remember the very first we came Ruby got stung by a jellyfish. Luckily none of the dangerous kind but that still didn't mean she cried for a solid forty minutes or so."

I look up at the moonlit sky as Yang continues to speak. The stars twinkle happily like they enjoyed our company on the beach. A shooting star passes over us. I smile knowing that when you see a shooting star you can wish for something and it will come true. So I secretly made a wish in my mind to be with Yang through thick and thin. Things won't always go as planned but I hope that our troubles won't keep us from being together.

"Have you ever been to the beach before?" Yang asks.

"This is my first time going since my father died," I say. "He would always take us to the beach to live in over the summer. It's not too far from here actually." I point down the beach. "It's a couple miles that way."

"So your family still use it?"

I shook my head no. "Our family hasn't been there in years. It's most likely covered in dust and cobwebs."

"Wanna go check it out?" With the tone, Yang is using I know she's smiling. "We're not gonna break any laws. It's your beach house after all." She says in a persuasive and mischievous tone.

I shake my head in disapproval. "Yang, that's a terrible idea. Summer is three months aw-..." I pause. Dating Yang over the summer never crossed my mind. I'll be a senior next year and she'll be gone. Will she move on to another girl and forget all about me?

"Hey, you okay?"

"Yang?" I whisper. I'm pretty sure she had to strain her ears to hear me.

"Yeah?"

That's when I slip my hand over hers. "What will we do over the summer?" I squeeze her hand as I speak. "You're graduating this year and… and I still have one year left… What will you-"

Yang stops me by cupping my chin to turn me to face her. She pulls me in closer her, lips brush against mine. My eyes flutter shut as our lips lock together. Fireworks shoot off in my gut causing me to hum in her mouth. The kiss isn't long and it definitely isn't short. I'm gasping for air when Yang pulls away. She has that warm half smile on her face as she speaks. "I'm not going anywhere. I'll wait for you, Weiss."

I didn't know how to react to the kiss, but I sure was hoping she didn't see my blushing face in the moonlight. Our hands lock together for the rest of the night until Yang decides to take me back to Beacon.

Yang pulls into one of the campus garages, parks her car and locks it up, leaving her helmet sitting nicely on the leather seat. She escorts me to our building asking me several questions.

"So, how was your first date?" She asks.

I tap my chin. "Hm, I think it could have gone a lot better."

"Psh, yeah, right!" Yang snickers. "I know you enjoyed it way more than I thought."

"I think it would have gone better if I dumped a bucket of cold water on you for payback."

"You would have to grow a couple of inches to do that!"

I huff and shove her. That only makes her laugh her warm laugh. I start to giggle at first soon I start to laugh alongside Yang. We laugh and laugh and laugh until someone comes bursting through their door and yells down the hall, telling us to shut up. Yang and I instantly shut our mouth until the person slips back into their dorm and we burst into a fit of giggles.

Once we settle down, Yang asks me if she could stay the night at my place.

"I don't see why not. We are… girlfriends?... After all, right." I'm unsure of my word choice but Yang doesn't seem to take much notice in the stumble to say, girlfriend.

She pulls me into a close for a side hug. "Yep, we are!" She cheers pumping her first in the air.

The same person who told us to stop laughing comes again. Only this time they try to chase us. Yang takes off in a sprint and I'm not too far behind. We head for the stairs and sprint those as well. We sprint until we came up to Yang's dorm. She quickly unlocks it and ushers me in and shuts the door behind her. We are gasping for air.

A lamp light clicks on. Blake is already in bed and we just woke her up. "What were you two doing?" She grumbles. "Do you know how late it is, Yang?"

"Aw sh-... crap," Yang growls lowly. "Sorry Blakey. Some jackass chased us through the halls like a madman."

"We are sorry to intrude, Blake, but Yang is telling the truth," I say backing Yang up.

The didn't stop Blake from scolding Yang like a mother scolding her kid. Yang didn't seem to pay much attention to Blake rant though. In fact, Yang shut her out, literally by closing the bathroom door.

Blake sighs. "That girl."

I sit on Yang's bed, awkwardly fiddling with my blue vest. "I'm sorry we woke you up."

"I've been awake waiting for Yang to come back from your date," Blake says waving of my apology. "How was the date anyway? She didn't take you anywhere too crazy, did she?"

"She took me to dinner then the beach." I sigh happily. "I enjoyed it very much."

Blake giggles. "Sounds like you did too."

I blush. "We-Well I did love the city and stars… it was all lovely, indeed."

Blake smiles as I talk about my first date. Something I never thought I would see. The door finally opens to Yang already for bed. Wearing black shorts and an orange tank top.

"All right! Blake, I'm sleeping over at Weiss' place tonight. And _don't_ assume we are doing anything!" Her voice deepens when speaking the sentence.

Blake shakes her head and tells us to go already. Yang grabs her pillow and we head back to my dorm.

"So, what was your favorite part of the date?" Yang asks softly.

She's lying flat on her back, an arm wrapped around my shoulder, her fingers making a circle on my back as I'm huddled up close to her. My hand on her stomach (mostly her abs) and head resting on her shoulder. The humming of her heart makes me drowsy.

"I think I… liked the beach the most." I yawn.

Yang giggles.

"What?"

"Nothing. You're just the most adorable thing when you yawn."

My face heats up from her compliment. Now I'm really hoping she doesn't see my blushing face. Yang has always called my cute or adorable most likely because of how small I am and how big she, erm… in- in length n-not weight.

"Are you going anywhere for spring break?"

"Home."

"To your mother?"

"No. My sister and Dice, my stepfather, will be there."

Suddenly, Yang's fingers stop making circles when I say 'stepfather'. I already know what she is thinking and I don't wait for her to question it.

"He's not the one that abused me." I grip Yang's shirt when I speak.

I can tell she is relieved to hear when her fingers start to circle again. She starts to hum a lullaby which makes me all the more drowsy and, in return, I yawn. Yang giggles, I tell her to stop. She stops and goes back to humming. The combination of her soft beating heart and humming cause me to fall into a peaceful sleep.

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 **As a Repeat, I will not be uploading next week and I would love some feedback on the longer chapters or not cause I do read the comments. I'm sorry that this chapter took so long, another busy week at school. Anyway hope y'all enjoy. BYE!**


	10. Chapter 10

**I'm not dead, not yet at least. I've had several awesome ideas pop into my mind over the break and they'll be showing up in later chapters. But, for now, enjoy this chapter. it's time to get back into the groove of things. Thanks for the feedback before I went on break and enjoy this chapter!**

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When morning came I say goodbye to Yang and get back on a plane heading home for the break. Winter and Dice will be waiting for me when I arrive. I'm somewhat relieved to come home after such a long time for bad luck at the Schnee manor.

Klein stops at the shimmering silver gate, punches in a code, the gate squeak open and Klein drives through. The grass is nice a green, bushes trimmed and trees well maintained. We drive to the front of the manor, a fountain sat nicely in the middle of our circular driveway and an older man in a black suit waits at the entrance to open the door for me.

The man pulls open the door. "Welcome home, Miss Schnee." He greets. "Your sister and Dice are having tea inside. Would you like me to fetch you some coffee instead?"

"Some coffee sounds lovely, Martin. Thank you." I agree after stepping out of the car.

"They will be waiting for you in the back." He informs as I walk up the stairs to the big white double doors. "And Klein will take your suitcase to your room."

I open the door to the grand hall. Marble white columns stand like giants holding up the three other levels. Masterpieces and family portraits hang between them. One, in particular, is the portrait of me sitting on my Grandfather's lap. I was fixing his royal blue bowtie for the painting, both of us have the biggest smile on our face. I smile remembering the way he laughed the when receiving the painting.

The clicking of heels echo throughout the whole manner catches my attention and I turn to the owner of the heels. Winter is standing in the middle of the hall wearing a black pencil skirt and white collared shirt. A little smile on her face when she holds out her arms. She looks like the young woman Father said she would grow up to be.

I nearly have forgotten what my sister had looked like. She's been away for a long time and calling or texting isn't an option when your sister is a secret service agent.

"Well?" She asks. "Don't just stand there you oaf! Come give your sister a hug!" She waves me to come hug her. I don't hesitate and run up to her, throwing my arms around her and bury my face in her shoulder, crying out. "I've missed you so much, Winter!"

She strokes my hair. "Haha, I'm sure you have."

I pull away to look at her. "Oh, how I have so much to tell you!"  
"I'm sure Dice and I can't wait to hear." She flashes a smile.

Winter leads me to the back porch although I already know where I'm going. Several maids and butlers welcome me back as they tidy up the manor We come up to to a pair of french doors. Two men open the doors for us. As we walk through I nod in thanks to both of them. The doors shut with a click and we head to a table where a man with slicked back black hair and a black suit sat drinking his tea. Dice.

Hot coffee must have been made quick because it was sitting there on the table ready. I can tell it's fresh from the steam as Winter and I sit down. Winter picks up her own cup, takes a sip and sets it back down. I cup the mug in my hands and sip. A bittersweet taste fills my mouth and I swallow.

Dice turns to us with a large grin on his face. "Welcome home, Weiss!"

Let me inform you about Dice Tucker or Dice Schnee now. He is a wonderful man who has stayed by my mother's since she had fallen ill. When times got rough he stood his ground and didn't turn his back on anyone. Dice has taken charge of the Schnee electric company until mother fully recovers. He is also the man that recommended doctor Boston to mother. He has more of a father figure than anyone else in my life.

"Thank you, Dice," I say. "It's wonderful to see you again."

"It's wonderful to see both of you." He says. "I've been wondering how both of daughters are doing."

Even though we are not blood-related Dice still calls us his daughters. I've thought that the reason why he says it is to hide the loss of his son. It still affects him to this day.

"I don't suppose you have much to say about your work do you, Winter?" Dice asks raising a brow.

Winter takes another sip of tea before speaking. "I'll be staying in Vale for work purposes for a couple of months. That is all I can say."

"Maybe I'll see you out on the streets at some point, Winter!" I say with a dash of excitement in my voice.

"I doubt it though, Weiss."

I take another sip of coffee, not too sad about her honesty. Winter is busy all the time so seeing her is very rare and with my college work and… other things. It would be hard to see her. Winter should most likely be focusing on her work and not running around with her sister like a loon.

Dice then turns to me. "I visited Willow the other day." He informs. Nothing crosses my mind at the moment, but something does tell me that I should be prepared. "So who is this, _Yang,_ girl, Willow told me about."

My eyes widened shock and I choke on my drink. Coughs erupt from my throat as I try to breathe and I'm forced to put my drink down.

"I'm sorry to catch you off guard. I thought it would be a great way to start up a conversation." Dice takes a white handkerchief out of his breast pocket and hands it to me. "Although I know how you would want to hide the fact that you've finally broken out of your shell to meet someone."

I take the handkerchief and pat down my lips to keep the extra coffee from dripping off my chin and onto my dress. I'm stalling as well in hopes of finding how to explain who Yang is and what our relationship is as well. I hand the coffee stained cloth back Dice.

' _Should I tell them the truth and get it over with? I mean at some point they're going to have to meet her? B-but what will their reaction be like when I say that I'm dating someone of the same gender? Haaawwww!'_

"Well?" Winter breaks my train of thought.

I sigh, knowing that I can't plead the fifth on this case. "Beacon's champion boxer." Winter's brows rise in questioning. "We met when this boy wouldn't leave me alone… she stepped in to help me out." I explain

My sister and stepfather are silent. "What do you mean she stepped in and helped you out?" Winter asks with a bit of sharpness in her voice.

"If y-you think… think that she got in a…in a fight with the boy… you're wr-wrong!" My word fumble out of my mouth.

Dice hummed and taking another sip of his tea. He doesn't seem to take much interest in the boxer though. Dice has always wanted what's best for me but I'm sure he's thinking that Yang is a troublemaker. But I have the sneaking suspicion that He'll talk to me later in the week when we are in a more private area.

"Yang Xiao-Long, Beacon's champion boxer for the last three years," Winter says, tapping away at her phone. I cringe when I realize she looked up Yang on the internet. I'm really hoping there is nothing bad on there about her. "She looks like someone who would go to parties over the weekend and would flunk every class because of her status at school." I watch Winter's eyes narrow.

"A-actually she doesn't. Yang is an intelligent young woman who cares a lot about her physical health and, as a matter of fact, she has a sister that is going to the same school she is." I say.

"Weiss, are you sure she's friends with you? Some people at that school may want to use you for your money, your name, and nothing else."

' _You have no idea how kind Yang is or how much she means to me?!'_ I thought. ' _It doesn't seem fair for you to talk about a person you've never met?!'_ One of my pet peeves is when someone judges another without ever knowing who they are judging. It bothersome to see people scorn and laugh at others for their own amusement. I loathe those kinds of actions.

"Weiss, sweetheart, Winter is trying to look after you," Dice says.

I sigh. "I know."

We sit in silence as the day continues. By noon it's cool and breezy. Although it does get to freezing temperatures, Altas also has a beautiful springtime even if the temperature is still cold for those outside of it.

I had finished my coffee and Winter had to take an important call. As I prepared to head up my room, Dice stops me.

"Weiss, I have a question." He says.

"What is your question, Dice."

Dice gets up from his chair, chuckling. "I would love it if you at least called me your stepfather." He turns to me with a smile. "I was wondering if you would like to have a charity for Willows recovery and return to home."

I thought about it for a moment. "This is my choice, right?" He nods. "Then I would love to."

"Brilliant! I'll see when the best time to start the charity although I do have some dates in mind." He thanks me and I head to my room.

He thanks me and I head to my room.

Everything was the same, the oversized bed with drapes, the armchair, the mass well-organized books of the bookshelf, none showing my true nerdy self, my balcony has a table and a nice view of the family garden that has been attended to since mother left. The thought of mother coming home has this warm bubbly effect on me. To see her in the gardens again, walking past all the daffodils, roses of different colors, lavenders, and the beautiful colored snapdragons. Talking to some of the caretakers and taking care of some of the flowers herself.

A buzz in my dress pocket snaps me from my thought. I take out my phone and see what it is. Little sun dragon pops up on the screen in bold letters. I smile, tap my phone two and open her message.

Heya, Weissy! Just wanna check up on ya to see how you're doing.

I smile when reading her message and reply as quickly as possible. Thank you for checking on me, Yang. I am doing fine. How are you? I click send. The dots appear a couple seconds after my message was sent.

In Vale with my sis and some friends. We're getting a bite to eat at your favorite milkshake place.

An image loads with Yang, Ruby, Blake, Pyrrha, Jaune, and another girl with dark skin, hair in a ponytail shaped like a loop, all holding different kinds of milkshakes. A tinge of jealousy blooms in my gut. It's not that she's hanging out with friends without me I'm fine with that. It's that she went to get milkshakes without me!

Another texts loads. Jealous?

I don't hide the answer. Yes! It's like you planned for me to leave so you could try and lure me back with milkshakes!

I get a quick reply. Lol. Yeah, it's a ploy to get you to come running back to me. Anyway, everyone says hi. I gotta go; we can talk later though. Love ya princess.

She added a heart symbol at the end of her message. I smile and text back: Love you too.

Afterward, I unpack and pull out a book to read knowing all too well that Dice will be too busy having dinner be prepared and Winter with her work which leaves me by myself for a couple of hours. I'm in bed at mid-story when something clicked in my head reminding me of last night. At dinner, Yang said she watched this show when she was little. Maybe that can entertain me for the next couple of hours? I set my book aside, pull out my phone and head to the CCT app. CCT is a worldwide app that allows you to watch the news live or your favorite shows right when they air, record, download, or connect with the world. You also watch old tv shows that don't air anymore or watch shows that are owned by different companies and so on.

I tap on the search bar and type in Voltron. Several shows pop up with the name Voltron, all have these space lions on the front with a giant robot man.

I grumble. "I wish Yang was more specific about this show… I guess I'll start at the top." I click on the first show that looked more new than the others. From there I was hooked.

Three hours have passed since I started watching Voltron. Dinner starts being served at five which means I have at least an hour to prepare. I freshen up my makeup and switch of my nice blue and white sundress into a formal dress. A dark blue that starts the fade when getting down to the bottom. It's a lengthy strapless dress that comes down to the ankles. It has a slit up the left leg that is protected by a slip and comes with a sweater like jacket with a sapphire encrusted gem that covers up the collar, showing my nonexistent cleavage which makes me want to tug the jacket together more.

I look at myself in the body length mirror to see if anything is out of place. The dress looks like on me, hugging my thin waist. I smile at the image in the mirror and head back to the bathroom, brush my hair and put it up in an offside ponytail. My phone buzzes. I gasp realizing that my time is and I still haven't put my heels on. They're a dark blue pair of strap-on heels that complement the dress nicely. My phone buzzes again as I plop down my bed scramble to put the heels. It buzzes two times and I start to panic. I snatch it up and look at the time. A confused look comes across my face when the time says four forty-five. I have plenty of time to spare, but why is my phone buzzing? As if the phone sensed me the buzz went off again this time an unknown number pops up on the screen.

I gulp, knowing that nothing good will come from this, and open the message. My eyes widen in terror when reading the message.

Oh, Weiss. Have you already forgotten me? Because I haven't forgotten you.

There are several other message other messages before that one. I cover my gaping mouth with shock upon reading them. There's another buzz. A new message.

Just remember that I will make you pay.

My blood runs cold reading the message. The feeling of a ton of bricks pouring down on me. Mind swimming with questions and yearning for answers right away. There is nothing I can do to find out who this person is or what they want or why they want to me to pay for whatever insane reason they have pinned on me. All of this is just insane! But if they think I'm going to keep this a secret then they're wrong. I'll take my phone with me to dinner, planning to talk to Winter and only Winter about it.

"I don't know who you are but," I pause for a moment and sigh. "I'm sorry if you think I did something to hurt you."

A long moment of silence, I sigh again and head off to dinner.

"I've planned several activities for the three of us," Dice says, cutting up his steak. "I would like to know if either of you have an activity you would want to do?"

The three of us sit at a lengthy table. Wood that has been sanded down and polished, covered by a fine white cloth. Stitched in the middle is the Schnee family logo. Dice sits at the head of the table, Winter sits the left and I sit to the right. Our plates are filled with steak, mash potatoes with gravy and bowls of salad are set off to the side for us. A more simple dinner as I would say.

"I may not show for some of your activities, Dice, although I will try my best to squeeze in some time for as many as possible," Winter replies. She's eating away at her salad, the only thing she's touched so far.

"Thank you for informing me, Winter. What about you, Weiss? Do you have anything special you would like to do?" Dice turns his voice to me.

I haven't given much thought to his questions. I've been too busy thinking about the mysteries person who's texting me. So busy that I haven't started to eat my food only poked at it.

I stop poking at my food. "Oh. Uh, no sir I have no places I would like to visit but I'll tell you if anything crosses my mind." I say before going back to poking at my food.

Dice seems to take notice in my unusual behavior and asks if I'm okay. I nod and finally take a bite of mashed potatoes. I don't take much notice in the taste. How can I when there could be a murder stalking me, waiting to strike at the right moment. Being trapped inside gets overwhelming and I decided to excuse myself from them to get some fresh air.

The deck is not far from the dining hall, the same men from earlier open the door for me as I walk out. An audible click lets me know that I'm alone now, out in the open. I sigh and sit down, trying to clear my thoughts, but with the state of panic I'm in makes it hard to. I look at the cool blue sky hoping it would help, but, like my mind, the sky was clouded and blocked off.

I sigh and slouch in my chair.

"Something the matter?" I gasp and sit up, snapping my attention to Winter standing a few feet from me.

"I… I don't know yet."

I watch Winter come and take a seat next to me. "Mm, and why is that?"

'What do I tell her? "Hey, someone is threatening me and I don't know who it is, but besides that everything is fine. Not like I'm freaking out about it." Great idea, Weiss! Let your sister panic over vacation!' I'm tearing myself up inside trying to tell her. I sigh. 'This is going to be harder than I thought.'

"Weiss, you can tell me anything, you now that, right?" Winter says using that same motherly tone that mother has. "Now tell me what is the matter?"

I needed to her; this could be my only chance to tell Winter. As she said at dinner, Winter is too busy to come to some of the activities with us. This is my only chance and I can't waste it.

I take a deep breath, exhale and jump in. "Someone has been threatening me."

The half smile falls and her morphs into a look of questioning and concern. "What?"

"Well… before the break, when I came…" I couldn't tell Winter I was dating Yang right now, that would be another bombshell for her. "Home late, I found a note saying You will pay in bold and just an hour ago I started to get texts from- what I think- is the same person."

Winter is silent, thinking of what she could do to figure out who this person is and why they want revenge for whatever I did.

"Have you given your number away to anyone?" She questions.

"No, I would never give my number away to some stranger."

"What about your friend, Yang?"

"I-..." I never thought about Yang giving my number away for some reason, but she would never do that, right? "I don't think so."

"Send me the mystery number and I'll send it over to my team to see if they can find anything on this person," Winter says. "Hopefully this is all some dumb prank some kid is pulling on you."

"I hope so too."

Winter gets up from her seat, asking me if I will come back for dinner. I tell her to give me a minute and not to tell Dice about our little talk; that this was between the two of us. She nods in understanding and goes back to accompanying Dice at dinner.

It does seem unfair to tell Dice but I don't want anyone else knowing. It could cause a panic for the poor man, then he'll tell mother, then she'll increase security and then the media will take notice and the next you know there's all these rumors about the Schnee family going around.

'Maybe I'm being paranoid but what else can I do but guess what could if word got out about me being threatened. The news and social media will explode if I say that I'm being threatened and people will start making their open theories or tell me that I'm a paranoid little girl because it's some dumb prank.'

I haven't given much thought of Yang giving my number away for some dumb prank. Granted, I know her pretty well but that doesn't mean she has a personal life. The idea is still out there though, but it's hard to tell if it's true or not.

I store the thoughts in the back of my mind and go back inside to join Winter and Dice for dinner.

* * *

 **So I wanted to explore Weiss' family a bit just to give you guys some insight on what her family is like. Since she's already been through a lot, it didn't feel right to give her a crappy rich family like in the show. Again, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and I'll see y'all next week, sometime. Don't forget to like, comment, and subscribe. BYE!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Hey, Guys! Hope y'all are enjoying the story so far! I enjoy writing it! I just want to take the time to acknowledge everyone who comments, adds my story to their favorites list, follows me or just takes the time to read my story. It really means a lot me! It also helps me to push forward in my writing. Thank you guys so so so much for sticking around this long! I know this sounds like I'm saying this is the end. It's not. We have a long way to go for it to be the end. Hope you guys enjoy this chapter and I'll see you at the bottom.**

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Yang's PoV

Something hadn't been sitting well with me well since Weiss left this morning. Even before she left, before Friday, before the week started, I've had this… this feeling that something's wrong with Weiss. I haven't figured out what it is yet, but I hope to find out soon.

It's movie night tonight and my friends decided on seeing the new black panther movie. A movie that I've been dying to see for ages, but when it came down to watching it I was busy focusing on my girlfriend, not the show. Being a big-hearted person, I've always cared about the well-being of others physically and mentally.

I tapped my foot impatiently throughout the movie. Every now and then, Ruby or Blake would reach over and grab my knee and whisper into my ear "stop" or "She's fine". That wasn't enough to settle my nerves.

Once the movie ended I didn't wait for the end credit scene and made my exit, planning to go straight home and text Weiss until I fall asleep. The only thing stopping me from leaving sooner was my sister. Of course, I wouldn't leave her, but I had been debating it because of her wanting to see the end credits. Ruby begged a pleaded but I was not having it and I drug her out of the theater.

Once back at the dorms, Ruby went straight to hers without saying goodbye. I shrugged it off though, knowing that she'll thank me later. I got a text from Blake saying that she'll be staying at Ilia's tonight and to lock the dorm room when I leave in the morning.

I don't reply to the text and go straight to bed hoping that I would asleep fast enough so I wouldn't worry about Weiss a night.

The next morning is a blur for me. Most likely because it's four in the morning and Ruby and I need to rush to catch our train on time.

"Ruby, we need to hurry or we'll miss the taxi and then the train," I say ushering Ruby out of her room.

Ruby doesn't seem to care whether we are late or not; all she cares about is sleep. "Ugh, Yang! Why did you and dad choose such an early time for the train," she whined still half asleep, dragging her pack of clothes across the floor.

"Because it's was the cheapest one we could find, you dingus. Now, let's move." I reply with half command and half gusto.

Ruby whined some more and continued to whine and complain until we got in the taxi.

"Where to?" A man asks in a gruff and happy, must be a morning person.

I make Ruby get in first so I can hand her pack to her. "We are going to downtown Vales train station." I hop into the taxi with my duffle bag, adding. "And we're in a bit of a hurry."

"All right, buckle up and hold on tight! We're about to break some laws!" He shifts the gear into drive and floors the pedal. He laughs, Ruby yelps, and I say a prayer.

Several yellow lights, sharp turns and more prayers later, Ruby and I are dropped off at the train station. I wave goodbye in thanks as the yellow death car shrieks away to take its next victim.

"Ugh! I think I'm gonna puke." Ruby grumbled.

I shake my head. "Come on, Rubes. We still need to get on the train." I direct her to the ticket booth.

I hand the ticket man our tickets, then he tells us where to go. We thank him and walk away. It doesn't take us long to find our train and get on. Ruby takes it upon herself to have the window seat while I slide our luggage into the overhead compartment and plop myself down next to her. She wasted no time and falls asleep, using my shoulder as a pillow. A small smile creeps up on my lips hearing her soft snores, they kind of remind me of… Weiss.

My mind thrusts into a swimming spiral of worry for the small white haired girl. She seemed fine when I left yesterday and I checked up on her by midday as well, but something seemed to have been bothering her all week. The problem was that I didn't know if I did something wrong or not.

The train lurches, pushing me back into reality. Ruby mumbles, leaning more into my shoulder. A small smile curls up on my lips as I start to stroke her hair in a calm and soothing manner. I wrap an arm around her to pull her close, giving a small kiss on her forehead.

I return my gaze out the window, watching the station zoom by, the building fades away as the night consumed them until there was only the light shining on the forest that the train tracks cut through. I watch until my eyes grew weak, lids heavy, letting them flutter close into the dark.

"Ma'am is this your stop?" A womanly voice echoes in my ears.

A low grumble escapes my lips. "Where are we?"

"Patch."

My eyes snap open and I shoot up from my chair. "Are we too late?!" I cry out in worry.

The woman takes a step back. "Um… no, but you should hurry the train will leave in five minutes." She informs before leaving us alone.

I waste no to shake my sister. "Come on, Rubes! We can't miss our stop now! We only have five minutes or I'm leaving you on the train."

She shoots up as well barely missing my jaw. "Oh, my gods! We're home! Yany, hurry and grab our stuff I don't want to miss our stop!" Even though she told me to get the luggage, Ruby was already pulling our bags down from the overhead.

She rushes down the aisle to the exit, off the train, to the waiting area for our ride. I shake my head with a smile on my face and join her. Honestly Ruby would be that embarrassing mom that would hold a sign up to find her kids. The image makes me laugh.

The station is small which means the place is not busy. People don't come to Patch for no reason. Patch is mostly used for beach vacations and a small stop for people who travel around the countryside.

Ruby strains her legs to try and spot Dad and Summer, trying to spot them before I can. It's a game we would always play when we were younger and we still play it or course.

"I see him! Dad!" Ruby doesn't waste and dashed away, leaving her bag behind.

I watch as she nearly tackles a man with shaggy blond hair and scruffy chin hair. The man has the biggest smile on his face and is still wearing the same mustard-colored shorts and a white t-shirt with mustard colored sleeves. I spot the woman next to him. Summer. Her hair is smooth, straight, and a velvet red tipped color, her silver eyes matches Ruby's, wearing a nice sundress with red rose designs. She at least changes her outfits, unlike Dad.

"Hey!" my father cries out, waving me down.

I smile, pick up Ruby's pack and make my way to my family.

Dad is the first to pull me into a bear hug, hoping he won't break any of my bones. "How's my big strong sunny dragon!" He asks excited, giving me a good squeeze for good measure.

"Hey, Dad!" I chuckle pulling only to be taken into another, less bone threatening, hug. "Hey, Mom." My arms move on their own, giving the smaller woman a much more gentler hug than the one I gave Dad.

"Hello, darling. How is school?" Her voice, smooth like butter and sweet like sugar. She pulls away to examine me. "My, you have gotten a lot bigger and stronger! I'm sure all the boys and girls drool over you at school."

My face flushed. "Mom!" I yelp out of embarrassment. "Not in public!"

The woman giggles. "Oh, sorry."

Ruby quickly butts in. "So are we doing today? Because I lost a lot of sleep for the train and you guys better have something awesome planned!"

"Yeah, Tia! Don't hide the surprise forever!" A gruff voice calls from behind us.

Ruby twirls around with stars in her eyes, I'm less enthusiastic though. "Uncle Crow!" She cheers rushing to the slicked back grayish black haired man in black jeans a gray shirt and black jacket, a smile on his face. Ruby throws herself onto him, clinging to him like a monkey.

I turn to dad, who has at least a smile on his lips, but I could tell by the look in his eyes that having Crow around is less than thrilling.

Fingers intertwined with mine. "Give him a chance, darling. We are the only family he has left now." Summer says softly.

I take a deep breath and exhale. "Yeah… yeah, okay."

Summer cocks her head towards Crow. "Go see him."

I give a small nod turning back to Crow. It hard for me to move my legs cause the last time I saw Crow, he was a drunken man trying to -I wouldn't say kill. It's something more settling than that. -hurt me and Rubes.

Ruby doesn't help by practically dragging the man over to me, though Crow doesn't seem to mind. She abruptly stops him in front of me. He has this heavy-hearted look in his eyes, knowing fully well that it's been a long time before Crow can truly forgive himself.

He scratches his cheek, unknowing of what to do. "Um… Hey,... firecracker."

' _He's trying, I'll give him that much.'_ I thought. "Hey, Crow."

There is a long drawn out pause between the two of us. I felt like cameras were recording and taking pictures so they could broadcast this moment everywhere. Knots form in my gut, not sure of what I'm supposed to do next.

"Look, uh… I'm sorry for… you know… everything and I-"

I throw myself onto him, giving him the biggest hug I can muster. "I missed you." I stammer.

There was no way I could hate my uncle for something he did in the past. I love and care about him too much to just let him isolate himself from -like Summer said- the only family he has. Although I haven't fully healed from the incident, I'm going to try. I'm going to try for me and for Crow.

He hesitates to pull me tighter into the hug. "I missed you too." He whispers, finally pulling me in.

After greeting everyone, Rubes and I pack up our stuff and pile ourselves in the back of the car, me taking the back seats all for myself, Ruby and Crow having the middle row, while Dad drives and Summer as his trusty co-pilot.

"So what's the most exciting thing that's happened this year," Crow asks, making for lost times.

"Well, I met there this-" I didn't finish cause Ruby decides to cut me off.

"Ooh, Yang got Cardin expelled." Ruby blurts out.

An echoing silence fills the car like water seeping through. It's suffocating and could drown me. All eyes are on me, except for dads, he's busy watching the road, but that doesn't mean he's not listening.

' _Dammit, Ruby.'_ I swallow hard and speak. "Well… he was bullying Weiss in the halls and I couldn't stand by and watch him push her around like she was a rag doll." I say somewhat defensively.

"What happened?" Summer asks.

"If you guys think I got in a fight with him you're wrong. I told him to back off and he did. The next day he graffitied mine and Weiss' locker." I shrug, adding. "It was no big deal."

Everyone is at least satisfied that I didn't get into a fight with Cardin. I had already broken his arm once during my sophomore year, that was my only warning.

"Who is this _Weiss_ girl you keep bringing up?" Dad finally speaks up.

"She's a frie-"

"She's Yang's girlfriend!"

"Ruby!"

Crows brows raise in questioning. "Your girlfriend? I didn't know you swung that way."

My neck and face are red hot knowing that the secret was out and with Crow needing to catch up on everything that has happened since his arrest made it all the more embarrassing.

"Yeah…" I mumble, twiddling with a piece of hair.

"When were you going to tell us?" Dad asks

I shrug. "I don't know… when I felt ready to tell you, but," I look at Ruby. "I guess my time has been cut short."

Ruby shrinks in her seat trying to escape my gaze.

"Now, now," Summer speaks up. "I'm sure Ruby got carried away with excitement knowing that you have a cute girl wrapped around your finger."

"Actually, it's more like Yang is wrapped around Weiss' finger."

"RUBY!"

"Oops." she giggles nervously, shrinking even more in her seat. "Sorry."

The rest of the ride home was playful banter and teasing about me dating a girl, a Schnee for the most part. Dad and Summer knew little about Weiss and all that they do know comes from Ruby. Crow seemed a bit distasteful about me dating a Schnee for some reason. I didn't push him or ask him why. I was saving that question for later.

It's nearly noon when we arrive home. Three dogs come sprinting up to Ruby and me when we climb out. The golden retriever, Ember, nearly tackles me to ground and tries to like my face raw. Crescent is more eager about seeing Ruby than Ember is seeing me. The Rottweiler pitbull mix jumps up and down, up and down, yipping, happy to her beloved owner return to her. The last, Zwei, comes hobbling over to dad and Summer, plopping down in front of them, winded but happy to see them home. The poor corgi has made it this far and is still kicking, but with each month, each day, I could tell it won't be long before he passes. Zwei has been part of this family since I was ten and it will be hard for us to see him go on to the next life.

Dad kneels down to give the corgi a good ear scratching. "Hey there, buddy. How are ya doing? How are ya doing?"

Zwei yipped happily but struggled to stand. I pushed Ember off of me and picked the old corgi. "Hey, there big guy! How have you been? Been watching over mom and Dad for me and Rubes, making sure they don't burn down the house? Huh!" I exclaim rubbing the spot between his ears

Zwei's tail wagged with joy, tongue hanging out, drool almost dripping from his mouth onto me. Luckily Ruby snatched him away from me in time to get the slobber all over herself.

"Aw! Gross!" Ruby whines.

I chuckle. "Karma is a jerk ain't it, Rubes!"

Ruby grumbles and sets Zwei down so he can waddle back to the house. Crescent and Ember join, though he can't keep up with the others, Zwei gives it his all when he tries.

I head to the back and pop open the trunk. I reach for my stuff but dad and Crow stop me from grabbing mine and Ruby's bags. Dad tells me to head inside for a surprise. I don't think much off, but once in. It was a surprise.

Summer had come in early and in her arms was a little black and white fuzzy ball all curled, meowing. Ruby squeals with joy, zooming over to get a closer look at the little thing. I try to hold in my kid little excitement, it works for a short amount of time though. Once Summer hands them over to me. My excitement exploded and instantly start to cradle the kitten like they were my own.

"Awww!" I squeal. " did you guys pick'em up from the shelter cause there's it so no way you did!"

"Nope," Dad pops in through the doorway. "We found her wandering the streets. Picked her up, brought her home, and nursed her back to health."

"So have you guys named her yet?" Ruby gently rubbing the small kitten's ears earning her a small meow from the fuzzball.

"Haha, we actually wanted you two to name her, seeing that she's yours now." Dad chuckles seeing the kitten cuddle up against me. It's because of my natural warmth.

"What do you wanna call her, Yang?" Ruby asks.

I look at the kitten for a long minute trying to figure what to call her. The shallow blue color of her eyes gave me an idea. "Shallow," I whisper.

"Shallow?"

I nod. Ruby does not question my decision, but she does take Shallow away from me. I instantly start to miss the little kitten in my arms.

Dad hands me my bag. "I'll make sure she doesn't hold onto her forever."

I chuckle. "Thanks, dad."

After unpacking, we have some of Summer's famous chicken and dumplings. Something I've always since leaving home. I helped make the dough for the dumplings, Summer grabbed all the ingredients and Crow chopped the chicken. He made some cheesy joke that I laughed at. I was going to reply with my own joke, but when I faced him, everything slowed down.

Seeing the way Qrow held the knife sent an unforgettable churning feeling in my gut. My heart pounding unhappily against my ribs like it was trapped like I was trapped. My breath became shallow and short.

Qrow gave me a perplexed like. "Are you okay, Yang?"

A cold sweat rolls down my body. "I… I…" I dash out of the kitchen, down the hall, up the stairs, to my room, slamming the room behind me and locking it.

I'm panting and press my back against the door then slump down to the floor. A sharp gasp catches my attention. I look up to see Ruby, who had just gotten out of her shower, wrapped in a towel, face red.

"Yang! What are you doing in here!?" She cried.

I rest my head in between my knees. "I… I'm… I can't do this, Ruby… I can't…" I mumble.

Hopefully Ruby will understand and not try to force me out of the room. Ruby sighs. It's a sign that I knew she understood what I meant.

She's silent for a minute, thinking. "... Give me a minute to get dressed and I'll be out to talk to you."

Drawers out and close. Ruby shuffles to the bathroom and closes the door behind her. Leaving me on my own to think.

More than a minute later, Ruby came back wearing an oversized tear shirt and running shorts. She sat next to me. "... This is about Qrow… isn't it." Ruby didn't question me. No, she knew it was about Qrow.

"... I… He's… I told myself before we left the train station that I would try to forgive him, Ruby. I'm trying, I'm honestly trying to. But every time. Every damn time I see him I can only picture him as a raging drunk man." My voice trembles from either anger or fear, I can't tell.

I'm really hoping Ruby will pull out some wise old woman words to help me out with this little predicament.

"Yang," She says in a soft tone. "I know this is going to be hard for you, it's going to be hard for me too, but… we can get through this together." Ruby reaches moves and takes my hand, giving it a squeeze for good measure.

I look at her with tears forming in the corners of my eyes. "What would I do without you, Ruby." Though her tiny speech didn't help me much, I didn't have the heart to tell her that it was useless.

Ruby smiles. "You would burn down the whole school if you didn't have me."

I chuckle, reach over ruffle her short hair. "You're such a nerd!"

Ruby pushes my hand away. "At least I'm not wrapped around some cute girl's finger."

"... You kind of still are though, I mean, you keep complaining about how Jaune stole Pyrrha from you. And whenever you're around her you seem to do whatever she asks you to do and then some."

"Yang! I thought I told you not to talk about that!" Ruby wailed.

"And I thought I told you not to tell mom and dad that I'm dating Weiss."

"Yeah, but… but…"

"No buts, Ruby. You broke a promise and more importantly a sisterly promise." I say pulling her into a side hug.

"Ugh! You're going to be the death of me one day," she grumbles.

I lock an arm around her neck. It's not strong enough to do anything serious, but it's enough to keep her from escaping. I proceed to give little red a noogie.

"Gah! Yang!" Ruby squirms and twists her body trying to break free.

"This is your punishment for breaking your promise!" I exclaim.

Ruby takes a pinch of skin from my arm and twists. I instantly scramble to get my sister off of me.

"What did you say earlier? Oh yeah. Karma's a jerk ain't it, Yang!" Ruby cheers with pride.

I growl and decide that Ruby's old enough for me _not_ to go easy on her anymore. With both arms and my strength, I scoop Ruby up and throw over my shoulder just to her slam her down on the bed. The wind is knocked out of her. When I pull away Ruby clutches her stomach in pain. Worry that I've overdone it, I grasp her shoulder and ask if she's okay.

"Oh, gods. Are you okay, Rubes?"

Ruby stood up with anger in her eyes and swings with all her might, punching me in the arm. "You jerk! You know how fragile I am!"

"Ow." I nurse my arm. "Sorry, Rubes. But did I ever tell you that your punches hurt like hell."

"Did I ever tell you how much of a nuisance you can be." She grumbles.

"Aw, come on! I'm not that bad!" I pull Rubes into a bear hug. I pick her up with glee which her to gasp in surprise. "What are big sisters for anyway! We're not supposed to be kind to our younger siblings all the time!"

Ruby frantically slaps my shoulder telling me to tell go of her or I might break her in two. Hey, I could get two little sisters for the price of one.

I loosen my grip into a softer hug and whisper in her ear. "Thanks, Rubbles. I don't think I could get through this without you being there for me."

Ruby knows that I'm being serious now and returns the kind gesture. "You're always there for me now it's my turn."

' _Nerd.'_ I thought. ' _You're my nerd though and I wouldn't have my sis any other way.'_

We head down to the kitchen. Qrow, Summer, and Dad have already set the table and are sitting down waiting for us to join them. Dad sits at the head of the table, Summer on the left, me on the right, Ruby next to me and Qrow next to Summer.

We exchange stories and jokes as we ate. Qrow asked more about our lives after he had been gone so long. Everything seemed fine and dandy. But, every now and then, I could feel Qrow staring at me from across the table. I give any attention to it but his staring made me feel somewhat unsettling. His gaze wasn't threatening, but it wasn't exactly friendly either which made me want to confront him about later, but I decided against it.

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 **So I wanted to get Yang's Family in as well seeing that I did Weiss' family last chapter. And if Qrow's name is spelled wrong than that was spell check. Hope y'all have a great rest of your week and I'll see you guys sometime next week. Like, comment, subscribe and I'll see ya later. BYE!**


	12. Chapter 12

**I know this chapter is a little shorter than my other chapters and it took a little longer to get out. I ran into some writer's block at the end of this chapter. But I pushed through and now we are going to get to the fun part. So I hope you guys enjoy and I'll see y'all at the bottom.**

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Ruby and I had to clean up since we didn't help make dinner. Afterwards we went upstairs to our shared room (if you haven't figured that out yet).

The area was supposed to be used as a living room, but Summer had other plans. When we first moved to this house, seven years ago, there were only two bedrooms. Which meant the original one that Ruby and I were going to share would be too small for the both of us. So Summer put us up here. The smaller room is now used has the guess room and game room.

There's the lower area where Ruby stays. On the other side, there is a two-step staircase -I wouldn't call it a staircase- that leads up to a loft-like area for myself.

It's the smaller area of the two, though I don't mind at all. Ruby does have a lot of stuff for her nerdy collection of old t.v. Shows, animes, books and whatnot. I have my own little collection of stuff as well. Some books, movies, figures of famous boxers and sports people, things like that. But on the very top shelf is the vintage Voltron collectible figure. Every once in awhile I'd take him down and dust him off. So I can keep him in good shape, ya know.

Ruby plops down on her own bed. I followed her lead and plop down on my own bed

"So now what?" Ruby asks.

I shrug. "I don't know about you, but I think I'm going to Facetime Weiss to see how she's doing."

I don't know what Weiss' time zone is. The thought never really crosses my mind when I call. The phone rings several times before someone finally picks up.

The screen is pitch black when she answers. "Hello…" A groggy Weiss speaks.

A smile creeps up on my face as well as a raised brow. "Hey, princess."

The lamp comes to life with a click and a hand comes into view for a few seconds before disappearing again. Then the phone is picked up and I'm introduced to a funny and cute surprise. Weiss had bed head hair and her glasses sat lazily on her face, eyes barely open. The oversized shirt she's wearing had slipped off her shoulder exposing the pale smooth skin from under.

"Who is this?" She asks yawning.

I snicker. "Your girlfriend sleepy head."

Weiss' eyes pop open shock from the unknowing surprise of… well… Me. "Oh, gods! Yang! I… I didn't think you would be call… calling me at this hour!?" She squeaks, pulling the blankets up to her neck.

I'm quick to apologize, but Ruby butts in. "Hey, Weiss!"

Ruby doesn't get an answer from her because I push Ruby out of the away and apologize for calling so early and for Ruby's crazy actions. Weiss waves my apology off with a tired hand saying that sleep is overrated anyway. I chuckle at that.

"So what will you be doing over spring break?" I ask.

Ruby comes sliding back into the frame sitting next to me. I don't usually like it when people butts in on a private conversation between Weiss and me, but I let it slide because of how much Ruby is a fan of Weiss. Plus, I can't punch my sister in the face. I mean I can if I wanted to but I would be setting a bad example for the kids reading this.

"Dice has some activities planned throughout the whole week. So calling or reaching you by phone will be hard." She yawns again after speaking.

Ruby leans in closer to whisper in my ear. "She looks cute when she yawns."

I didn't know it was possible but my smile widens from my sister's word. "Yeah, she's super cute."

"I can hear both of you," Weiss announces.

Both of us bring our attention back to the little snowflake. Ruby dips out of the frame leaving me to face the princess on my own. ' _Trader.'_ I thought. Then I realized Weiss was waiting for me to answer her.

"Hehe, sorry, Weiss." I smile sheepishly.

She replies with a tired smile. "What will you be doing over your spring break?"

I shrug. "Eh, I don't know. I'll just go with the flow and see where that'll take me."

"That sounds a lot more relaxing than what I'm doing. I have parties, museums, galleries, and charities to attend to." Weiss sounds less than happy to do all that fancy stuff. It's that or she might be begging for more sleep.

"Ooh, fancy!~" I try pulling out my good singing voice to wake her. It surprises her for a split second, but Weiss is too tired to actually react.

"You should probably warm up your vocals before starting right off the bat." She says shaking out her bed head hair.

"Yeah, just trying to wake you up," I say. "What time is it there anyway?"

Weiss looks away to what I'm guessing is a clock on her nightstand and turns back. "It's almost four in the morning."

I groan at my mistake of calling so early. I never was good at math anyway. At least Weiss takes getting woken up early by accident well. Me on the other hand, not so much.

"Jeez, Weiss. You didn't have to pick if you didn't need to." I say.

"Oh… um… I'm sorry…" She apologizes.

' _Shit, shit, shit. I always forget that Weiss is new at the whole dating thing.'_

"No, no, no. You don't need to apologize for my stupid action. I should have been more aware of the time zone differences. It's totally my…"

I get distracted when Ruby is mouthing some words. _Wrapped around her finger._ Ruby mouths as she scrunches a finger at me. I roll my eyes in annoyance knowing she's making fun of me.

"Yang?"

I shake my head. "Um… I'm sorry. Ruby's just saying some dumb stuff about me being madly in love with you."

"Haha. How is your sister anyway." She asks.

Ruby jumps back into the frame, basically laying on top me so she can have all the attention. Although Ruby isn't much of an attention seeker in the first place, I'm happy she can be herself around Weiss. "I'm great, Weiss! how are you?"

"I'm a bit tired-"

"You can blame Yang for that."

"-But glad to be greeted by my girlfriend."

I push Ruby out of the way again and regain the attention of my girlfriend. It had taken Weiss all week to start calling me her girlfriend. She was paranoid that other people, other than Blake and Ruby, would find out and make fun of us for being gay, call us nasty slurs and so on.

Now I've been called fagot a couple times and it's not any nicer than the other words I've been called as well. But I can't begin to fathom what would happen if someone called Weiss one. It would send me into a rage I can tell you that.

"Maybe I can call you back, ya know when it's later in the day?" I propose.

Weiss yawns, nodding in agreement. Her cute expressions are too much for me to handle sometimes.

I'm ready to see goodbye but Weiss stops me at the last second though. "Dice will be doing a charity for mother's recovery. I'm inviting you and your friend to come to Atlas in a month."

My smile fades into a glum expression. "I wish we could come, Weiss, but my family isn't as rich as yours is. Plus, I don't think my friends would be the best to go to one of your fancy parties. I don't want your stepfather getting the wrong impression."

But Weiss waves off my reasonable excuses. "I'd have you and all of your friends on a private jet to Atlas. You all would stay at a nice hotel not too far from the Schnee manor and don't worry about Dice either, he basically acts like a teenage half the time." She finishes with a giggle.

I weigh my odds. Knowing Weiss, she wouldn't hang up without a yes from me. With no other way out, I agree to Weiss' terms. The smile I put on her face is worth everything on or what will lead up to that day.

Allowing Weiss to get some more sleep, I say goodbye and hang up. Her smiling face disappears from the screen. The worried feeling for Weiss is back stronger than before. Something is wrong with Weiss and I'll find out what it is.

Weiss' PoV

I'm able to get three more hours of sleep before having to get up and get ready for the day. Dice said he would be taking me to the art gallery today and that I should hurry if I wanted to see the new add-ons of the building.

"It's only exclusive for those who are willing to make a sacrifice." He said to me before exiting my room.

It's almost sounded like he wanted to sacrifice someone so he can pay the fee with the sacrificed man's blood just to see some new add-ons of the gallery. Sometimes I don't understand what he's talking about and other times I'd wish he would tell me what he actually meant.

I take a quick shower and throw on a nice white dress with a thin brown belt that wrapped around the waist. I slip on a light blue sweater, put my hair up in a nice side ponytail and go downstairs to eat breakfast.

Once down there, the table is already set with fruits, eggs, pancakes, bacon and other breakfast sorts. No one else is at the table and only one plate is set.

"I'm sorry, Weiss, but Dice has already eaten and Winter left early this morning saying she had some important business to attend to," Klein spoke up from behind.

Eating alone is normal for me whenever I'm home. When Dice took over for mother he became too busy for breakfast. Mother, of course, was at the hospital, and Winter never ate breakfast. She's always too busy for her own good. Someday we'll all be able to sit down as a family and eat as a family.

"Thank you for informing me, Klein," I say trying to hide the depressed emotion in my voice.

I sit alone and eat alone in silence except for the sound me eating which is something I'll never get used to. A warm cup of coffee sits just on the outside of my plate.

I pick it up and take a slow sip. Instead of a bitter taste, my tongue is touched with a sweet one. Cinnamon and cream. The two real things I need for mornings like this one which is every morning.

My mind wanders as I drink. Yang is the first person that comes to mind and I instantly want her here with me. Ever since leaving Beacon, I've missed her being around me and being in bed with me. It's… it's not like that. It's more… it's more of her holding me close. Pro...protecting me in a way.

I set the cup down, but don't let go. My thumb runs over the smooth surface of the warm cup, reminding me of the time I was reaching for something and ended up touching something else.

A smile creeps up on my lips as the memory repays in my mind.

" _Yang, I need your opinion on this." I say, finishing up the last of my sketch._

 _It's a drawing of a couple holding hands except the fingers act like roots, binding the two people in love together for eternity. It's the latest assignment I got from my art professor. He wanted us to draw, paint, sketch, something that has a deep meaning in our lives. The faces are blank which means people can choose how their own love works. It could be two girls, or two guys, or two trans people, or it's a guy and a girl and so on._

 _I didn't want to take away anyone's image of what love should be. There are too many opinions of what love has to be instead of what it can be. I know I'm sounding like a preacher, but am I wrong though?_

 _Yang is sprawled out on my bed next to my criss cross-legged self, playing on her phone. Within the blink of an eye, she's sitting up next to me, looking at the sketch intensely._

" _Hmmm. Hmm. Mhm. Yeah. Oh wow!" I know she's teasing me for the fun of it, but I not going to stop her from making dumb faces. They secretly make me smile and laugh like a dummy._

" _Do you want my honest opinion?" She asks._

" _Yes, please," I reply._

" _I think… it… needs… to…." Yang drags out every word she saying before looking at me, who is unamused for the most part until she pokes my nose playfully. I giggle at the small action; Yang finds it funny as well. "But seriously, if your professor doesn't give you an A-plus then he's brain dead," she says laying back down._

 _I scoff. "Professor Liam is a pain in the butt when it comes to grading. It's physically impossible for anyone to get an A-plus in his class-"_

" _But it's not too hard for little miss princess." Yang chuckles, cutting me off._

" _I'm not little." I huff. "You're just tall."_

" _Oh, no way you're literally pocket sized. Maybe I should start wearing shirts that have a breast pocket so I can keep a better eye on you."_

 _I picture Yang walking around with me in her breast pocket. Yang would have all the joy if an experience like that comes up. It'll probably happen in a different universe where all sorts of crazy stuff like that goes on._

" _Rude," I grumble and go back to sketching in more detail._

 _Once finished with the detail, I go to shading. I reach over to grab a box of shading pencils Dice had gotten me for my nineteenth birthday before going to Beacon for the first time. My fingers make contact with something solid and rigid. It's not my pencil box. It's Yang. Well… more specifically her abs._

 _My face heats from embarrassment when a hand slips over my own, keeping it there. Yang doesn't want me to pull my hand away._

" _Have I ever told you that I love it when you're close to me. Close enough for me to share my warmth with you." She says with this softness in her voice. "Close enough for me to hold onto your beautiful and soft hands. Close enough for me to hold your entire being next to mine. Close enough for me to love you. To kiss you."_

 _My neck and chest are burning red with embarrassment now when she finishes. Even when we've been together for less than a week, Yang still makes me feel like I don't deserve her. I know she's not doing it on purpose, but it's my own feelings, my own demons that I can't control._

" _N… no… you… you haven't." I squeak._

 _The urge to hide under a blanket grows stronger inside me._

 _The bed shafts as Yang sits up again. She takes the binder, with my drawing and pencil in it, and sets it aside. "Hey, I know you're new at being in a relationship, but, for what it's worth, don't listen to those voices in your head. They don't know what they're talking about." Her words give me reassurance._

 _Yang pulls me in close to rest her forehead against mine. My eyes close and she gives me a soft warm peck on the lips. Even though the kiss is short, an array of fireworks explode inside me._

 _When I open my eyes, Yang has a weak smile on her face. I instantly start to panic._ 'Did I do something wrong? Does my breath smell bad? Did Yang finally realize that I'm not good enough for her?' _my mind is a swirling mess of emotions again. Then Yang speaks._

" _Weiss?..." She seems unsure of what she's about to ask. "I was wondering if… if…" She swallows hard. "If it's okay for me to see your scar?"_

 _My breath hitches. For some reason, at that moment my scar starts to burn. My heart beats down on my ribcage as the panicky feeling overwhelms me. A hand in cases mine and Yang's sedative voice gently touch my ears._

" _Hey, hey it's okay. It's okay." She cooes, pulling me close to her. "I'm sorry for doing that to you. I didn't think it would set you off like that."_

 _My breath slows and the panicky feeling subsides as Yang speaks. Her apology is sincere which is why it calms me so quickly._

" _I know how you feel sometimes. The scar on my cheek burns or itches whenever something sets off my memory. See." Yang shows me the thick scar on her right cheek by tapping the spot under it._

 _It hurts me to see the pink skin on her cheek that doesn't match the rest of her. A beautiful face with a nasty scar. How could someone like Yang deserve something like this? Why would her uncle do this to her?_

 _Yang brings my hand up to her cheek, my fingers brushing over it. The scar had healed properly along time ago which makes the skin smooth. Yang pulls my hand close to her mouth, kisses my palm, and let's go of it. I let my hand fall into my lap._

" _I understand if you don't want to show me, but can you make a promise that you will someday?" She asks._

 _I suck in a shaky breath and release it, nodding in agreement. Yang smiles softly and said that she had to go. I see her out and say goodbye. My hand is pressed against the burning feeling in my side as Yang walks away._

Klein informs me that it is time to go and takes me out to the family limo where I see Dice waiting for me inside. He looks a bit intimidating with his sunglasses on along with the black suit and red tie he has chosen to wear today.

Klein opens the door and holds out a hand to help me in. Once in, the door shuts and Dice tells the driver where we'll be going.

When he speaks, Dice's voice is low and stern. "The Altas arts and galleries, please."

He gets like this when something comes up from the company that bothers him. Like when some people started to boycott because they weren't getting a fair pay or when he had to undo all the knots and tangles that Jacques made when he was here.

"Is everything alright?" I ask as the limo pulls out of our driveway.

Dice turns me and his stern face softens. "I'm sorry, Weiss. I just got a call from the company saying that our business partner would like to hold a meeting this Wednesday which means I'll have to cancel our plans for this week. Miss Fall can't rearrange the meeting."

I raise a brow. "Well… why is Miss Fall calling a meeting now?"

"It's best not to question Miss Fall." He says. "She has her own schedule and… not to mention, her short temper if anyone tries to tamper or argues with her."

Cinder Fall, the woman who runs a gasoline company and has teamed up with the Schnee electric company back when Jacques was in charge. She's just another knot that Dice must deal with.

"Her temper is so short and hot that it could _cinder_ someone." Dice starts to chuckle at his own joke.

The driver and I agree with each other on how bad his joke was with an audible groan.

We pull up to our reserved parking spot within ten minutes of leaving the manor. A line of people has already formed outside the gallery. Dice didn't seem to pay attention to the line and walked right into the gallery without a word. No one stopped us from walking in.

"Dice! Miss Schnee!" A young man calls out catching our attention.

The boy has dark blue hair that is brushed to one side and is wearing a dark red button up under his fancy black vest.

"Henry! How are you?" Dice smiles sticking out his hand for the young man, Henry, to shake.

Henry takes Dice's hand and they continue their chatter while I take a look around from where I stand.

The white marble building houses many extraordinary paintings and art pieces from all around the world. From Vacuo to Menagerie. It's nice to pick apart the art pieces. It keeps me busy while they chat. Many people gather around each piece of art to enjoy or analyze. One man stands alone, barely showing any care when looking at the painting. He stands strong, shoulders firm, orange hair groomed and spiked. Then without any reason or warning, he turns me. A gasp escapes my lips when his royal blues eyes glare me.

' _I didn't think he'd be here! Why is he here? Why is he here? Gods, not him! Anyone but him!'_ I don't show that I'm panicking on the inside, not that it matters though. He knows I'm panicking even when I'm not showing it.

"Schnee." He growls, his eyes ablaze now.

"... Car… Cardin."

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 **So he's back and a bigger ass than ever. I hope I don't get any more writers block because I really don't want to start a story and not finish it. Besides that would leave you guys high and dry and I don't want to be one of those people who doesn't finish something. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and I see ya next. Like, comment, and subscribe. BYE!**


	13. Chapter 13

**Sorry that this is uploaded so late in the day, but I will not be able to do it tomorrow. I got district track. Anyway, Hello everybody! How are you guys today? I hope it's a good one because I just updated the story! That's always a win, right!? Hopefully... maybe... I just have some simple advice for you guys. Don't be fooled by the mask. Okay? Okay! I also have some info at the bottom that you guys might want to read. If you y'all don't it's not going to kill... it might. Anyway, I've loved the comments that guys give. Love the feedback. love the pointers that y'all give. Thanks for saying that you love my story a lot, because I'm a self-conscious person and I feel like messed so many times and I just want huddle up in bed and not write anymore. Anyway enough of me. Enjoy the new chapter!**

* * *

Now I was really wishing I was pocket sized. Cardin comes stomping over to me with a snarl on his face. The look he gives is like a ravines dog ready to attack at any moment. It sends a shiver down my spine.

Within milliseconds he's towering over me. "The hell do you think you're doing here?" He snaps.

"... I… my… my stepfather and… and I are here…" I stammer.

The overwhelming thought of Cardin being here, of all places, sends my mind in a tornado of panic.

"The lesbian's party-happy father is here with her." He mumbles to himself. A stomach churning grin splits across his face. "I'm sure he would love to hear that his daughter is a dike."

I didn't know what 'dike' meant but it didn't sound like something good. Cardin spins on his heels and quickly walks over to Dice. I lunge, trying to grab his wrist only to barely miss it.

I watch as he cuts into the conversation with Henry and Dice. Henry's face shrivels up is disgust as Cardin explains to Dice what I am. Dice doesn't show any emotion on his face, but in his eyes, I could tell that he's disappointed with me. I watch as my world comes crashing down. The one thing that I had feared came true. All the hard work of hiding what I am from Dice just went up in flames and soon I'll be on fire too.

I can hear Dice thanking Cardin for the information. A smirk sits on Cardin's face when he turns around.

He strolls up next to me and speaks in a voice low enough so that only I can hear. "Next time I ask you out on a date don't say no. Oh wait, there won't be a next time." I can hear his smirk grow as he speaks. "Now that daddy knows you're dating that bitchy whore, Xiao-Long, I doubt he'll let you leave the house let alone date anyone."

As he walks away a tear runs down my cheek. Dice excuses himself from Henry and comes up to me. I keep my attention on Henry as he starts to talk to his parents and their business companions about it. I feel sick to the core when Dice stops in front of me. I don't look him in the eye nor do I say a word. I simply wait for him to lecture me, to yell, to tell me that the feelings I have for Yang are lies, to tell me that I can't… that… that I can't be in love with who I want to be in love with.

"I will talk to Mister Winchester's parents about him calling my daughter a dike and we will have our private conversation about your relationship with Miss Xiao-Long." He says with sternness in his voice that low enough for only me to hear.

I nod in understanding and wipe the tear away. I knew he would be disappointed in me and I knew I couldn't hide it from Dice forever. I only wished that I could have been more prepared for the time came. When it was time for me to confess my true feelings.

Dice rests a hand on my shoulder. "But, for now, let's try to enjoy the art gallery." He says with a softer tone.

I allow him to guide me away from all the people. The fear of him being disappointed and angry with me hasn't gone away and I doubt it will ever go away at the end of the week.

Neither of us says a word to each other nor do we look each other in the eye. I try to focus on the different styles and different pieces of art, but with Dice lingering behind me every time we move to a different painting, sketch or sculpture, makes it hard to do so.

We stop at one sculpture of a man and a woman kissing. I knew then and there Dice would make his move and I would have to prepare myself for whatever happens during and after the lecture.

"Weiss?" Dice says as he steps up next to me. "Weiss, I… I'm disappointed in you for keeping this from me. I understand that this is what you have chosen to be, but I fear for this company now knowing that you are… in love with a woman." He pauses to see if I'll give a response. When I don't he pushes on. "Willow and I have always thought that you'd give birth to the next heir or heiress for the S.E.C. The odds of that happening now is highly unlikely." He stops and sighs. "I guess all I can ask of you now is to not keep this from your mother or sister. I know how much they despise secrets." He finishes.

I'm shocked to hear that he doesn't care about my sexuality, he respects my choice of loving Yang. The fear of Dice being angered subsides and I'm able to release a breath of air that I didn't know I was holding.

"Oh and another thing." I suck another breath in. "Is Cardin the one that was harassing you in school and Miss Xiao-Long came to your rescue." I exhale and nod.

Dice cups his chin as he thinks. "Interesting, Interesting, interesting." He repeats before speaking up again. "I bet his father will enjoy hearing about what his son has done to my daughter."

His comment brings a smile to my face. "Thank you… f… father."

Dice's face morphs into a shocked expression when he hears those simple words. It had taken me a couple years to warm up to Dice and to call him my stepfather isn't exactly fitting for him anymore. My own comment soon puts smile his face as well and he pulls me into a hug, something that he rarely gives out.

"Your welcome, sweetheart." His words are gentle.

I hadn't realized I've been holding back tears until I speak up. "I know we just got here… but with everything that just happened? I would like to go home."

Dice chuckles in response. "I was about to say the same thing. I'm sure you would like to be alone for now."

We pull out of the embrace and finish our walkthrough of the gallery. My mind is at ease for the rest of the time through.

When we come back to the main lobby several people, famous people, rich people, and common people are mingling until some notice me and become silent. Others follow suit in this silence and watch as Dice and I walk past everyone. I would catch some bystanders whispering about me and into return I would shrink away.

I would pick out the words dike, lesbian, disgrace, gay, fagot, and so on. My head hangs low in shame as we near the exit, but Dice stops just a couple feet before and turns to the masses.

"If any of you have any issues with my daughter loving another woman then make a complaint to someone who cares." He announces. "And if I find that any of you people are or have been harassing or verbally abusing my daughter," Dice makes eye contact with Cardin. "Then I will have you arrested." And with that, we leave. The look on Cardin's face when we leave is worth every second of being in there.

When we come back to the manor, Winter is waiting for us to join her for lunch. We sit and enjoy each others company until the food arrives. Triangular sandwiches and tea are served, Klein brings me a cup of coffee though. Bless that man.

"How was the trip to the arts and galleries center?" Winter asks, plucking a sandwich from the plate.

"It was… interesting to say the least." Dice replies, adding on after a long silent second. "Weiss… has something to tell you."

This time I didn't choke on my coffee. This time I am… mostly prepared.

Winter turns to me with a raised brow. "Oh? And what might that be?"

I set my cup of coffee, but my hands are basically glued to it. I need something in my hands to fiddle with as I speak, it calms the nervous… in a way. "What Dice…. Is… is saying is that… that I'm… a lesbian." I mumble the last words of my sentence, praying that Winter didn't hear them.

But I can't have enough luck in one day. Winter isn't in the slightest surprised by my words. If anything it's the opposite.

"Figures." She says nonchalantly. "I'm glad that you've worked up the courage to tell me, but I'm sure whatever happened the gallery had something to do with this upbringing."

My mouth is agape when Winter shows no surprise, anger, questioning, or doubtful look on her face. As if she already knew.

I'm completely dumbfounded. "How… how are you not surprised by this?"

The question puts a smile on her face. "I could hear you talk this morning when I was heading out to work. " _I'm glad to be greeted by my girlfriend."_ She quotes me.

My face burns red. I never thought in a million years that Winter or anyone for a matter of fact would hear me this morning.

"Why… why were you up so early in the morning anyway?" I squeak.

Winter's smile drops to a serious face now. "That is something I would like to talk to you about in private." There's a moment silence before Winter speaks up again. "As in right now. I would to like to talk you right now."

Dice chuckles. "Okay, okay. I understand that you girls need to gossip every once in a while." He stands up and excuses himself from the table.

Once he's gone, Winter waits for a couple of seconds just make sure no one is listening in on our private conversation.

She leans in close so only I can hear. "You know that random phone number that has been threatening you?"

"Yes. Did you… did you find who it is yet?" I pray that she'll say yes.

"The number belongs to Cardin Winchester. If he's trying to get revenge because _you_ accidentally got him kicked out of Beacon then I don't want you in Atlas right now. It's not safe for you."

Cardin Winchester? But how did he get my phone number? I understand the revenge part, but he's not smart enough to tell x from y let alone find out my phone number. Something isn't right here and it's bothering

"Weiss?" Winter snaps her finger in front of my face to bring me back to reality. "Is there anyone you can stay with while my team and I get all this sorted out."

I don't even use a minute to think the answer over. "Yes, I know someone."

Winter simply nod instead of questioning me about who I'll be staying. I think it's because she already knows it's Yang.

"Send me the address of this person and I'll have a car on standby to take you there this Wednesday," Winter informs me before excuses herself.

I nod and pull out my phone and start texting Yang.

"Oh and Weiss," Winter calls to me. "If I find out that you and Miss Xiao-Long did something… without properly thinking it through, I won't hesitate to have you on a plane back to Atlas in a heartbeat. Do you understand?"

I gulp. "Ye… yes, ma'am."

Winter smiles sweetly and leaves. It takes me a minute or two to realize what I'm supposed to be doing and get back to it.

 _What is your address?_ I send the message and get a response within seconds.

Tuesday flew by quickly, but today is slow. Slower than a snail that woke up on a Monday morning that crashed from a coffee rush the night before. I sit in my room after breakfast, packing everything that I needed for the stay. Clothes, toiletries, a dress in case of Yang will take me out on another, and swimsuit, a beach isn't too far where Yang lives or so I've heard.

My phone buzzes which gives me the signal from Winter that my ride is here. I quickly grab my suitcase and hurry downstairs.

In the foyer, Dice is talking to a woman in a red long sleeved button up and black pencil skirt. It's more of a civilized argument than a regular conversation.

The way she looks, stands, acts, gives off a bad vibe for me but that won't stop me nonetheless. I make my way down the stairs, hoping that Dice or the woman will not notice me. No such luck.

"Weiss! Come meet Miss Fall, the co-owner of Salem gasoline." Did I ever tell you that Dice is good pretending to act cheery.

I've noticed it in the way he talks and how his eyes narrow in the slightest. It's hard for someone who doesn't know him well to notice, but it's easy for me.

Being the polite person I am, I go up to shake her hand. "It's nice to meet you, Miss Fall." When our hand's touch, it sends an unsettling feeling up my arm.

"Likewise." her voice is cold.

I'm unsure whether to smile or show no emotion at all. I finally pull my hand away and dismiss myself. Before I walk out the door, I turn to Dice who is mouthing something me.

 _Help me!_ I smile when he gives me the pouty lip and puppy eyes. His face morphs into a smile and waves me goodbye. I return his gesture with a small wave of my own before opening the door.

Once it's open, I'm greeting by a young woman close to my age. Mint green hair, dark skin, red eyes…

Emerald.

I stand there dumbfounded for what felt like ages. Neither of us say a word nor do we break eye contact until Miss Fall asks what my ex-roommate needs. Emerald slides past me to talk to her and I snap back to reality. I adjust my glasses and walk out.

Though the shock is still there, I'm able to walk down the stairs and to the car. Klein is there to help me in as always. He gives me a friendly smile waves as the car pulls away, taking me to the airport.

The flight felt short, but I knew it took at least four and a half hours to get to patch. The airport is small, but I'm still able to get the privacy I need. Two men escorted me to the black BMW, one holding my luggage and the other grabs the door for me.

I thank the two as the door shuts. Soon the car hums to life and we pull away from the plane and are on the way to Yang's house.

We drive through a good sized town with all the little shops that you'd see in one of those old t.v. shows. One shop that stood out is an ice cream parlor. Its window is decorated with different types of ice cream and shakes.

' _I know where I'll be going for the rest of my stay.'_ I thought. The little shop reminds me of the time Yang took me to that burger place. I'll never forget how that shake tasted.

The town abruptly disappears and a grass field takes its place. The grass grows into trees as the driver takes a turn down a dirt road.

At the end sat a nice log house. A garden of flowers bloomed around the porch as two dogs lazily napped on the porch. The vehicle stops and the driver looks at me.

"Are you sure you'll be okay, ma'am? Your sister and father will be worried knowing that you're… staying so far away." He's concerned for me.

"I'm sure I'll be alright, Risk." I take in a deep and release a shaking. "I'm just nervous."

Risk shrugs and slides out of his seat. The dogs immediately pop up as if they were waiting for the right moment like it was a trap. They come rushing down the stair, heading straight for Risk. I watch in horror as Risk is tackled and… get licked to death? The dogs yip and bark playfully as they take turns trying to lick the skin off his face.

"Crescent! Ember!" A certain red themed girl yells. "Come here!"

Both dogs scramble off of Risk and come prancing up to the red hoodie-wearing Ruby.

Risk gets to his feet and dusts himself off. "You got some great guard dogs, Miss."

Ruby doesn't seem to care about the comment. She too busy focused on the man in front of her with a black BMW. I would be concerned to if some random guy showed up at my house in a black car.

"What do you want?" She asks harshly.

Risk pulls open my door and helps me out. "I'm here to deliver Miss Schnee to you."

Ruby' face instantly changes into a big smile, dropping the defensive act. "Weiss!" She cheers running up and throwing her arms around me.

I cringe out of embarrassment. At least Risk didn't see, his too busy getting my luggage from the back.

Ruby pulls away from the embrace. "It's wonderful to see you so soon! Mom, dad, and Uncle Qrow are out right now. Yang is upstairs and I'm… well, I'm here." I can tell Ruby is exerting all of her willpower to keep herself from picking me, running inside screaming out of pure excitement and locking herself inside the house.

I don't know if that would be called kidnapping or not if I willingly came here, but I know Risk would not take something like that lightly nor would Winter.

"Here you are, Miss Schnee. Is there anything else I can do for you while I am still here?" Risk asks as he hands me my luggage.

Ruby is quick though and takes it from him. "Don't worry about Weiss. She's in good hands, I promise." She says with a smile. "Come on Weiss. I'll show you around."

Ruby walks back to the house and I wave to Risk goodbye. He shrugs it off, climbs back into the BMW and drives away.

As we walk up the porch the nerves are like a gigantic wave that comes crashing down all at once. I thought I would throw up butterflies at any moment. When Ruby opens the door I think really did almost throw up butterflies.

Not because the house looked messy or dirty, it's super clean actually. It's because I still can't believe I'm in Yang's house. This wasn't something I was expecting so soon and yet here I am standing in her living room.

It has a green couch and chair to match. A coffee table sits in the middle of the room and a t.v. hangs on the wall opposite of the couch. Video game systems sat under it, collecting dust.

Ruby then shows me the kitchen, a nice and small one at that. It's white tile and wooden cabinets give the space a home-like feel to it. Everything is there. A fridge, a stove, oven, microwave (yes I know what a microwave is), and dishwasher.

Ruby showed me the hallway where the guest bedroom, the one their uncle is staying in, and their parent's room. She then took me upstairs to hers and Yang's room.

"So this is where you'll be staying." Ruby chirps opening the door to a huge spaced out room. One bed sat on one wall and another bed sat on the opposite wall.

"You two share a room?" I ask.

It's a stupid question to ask, I know, but I'm so intrigued by the size of the room that I just let the question fall right out of my mouth.

"Yeah." She points to the red blanketed bed. "That's my bed and the other one is Yang's."

I look at the two bed and notice that there is not a third for me. "Um… Ruby, where is my bed?"

"Oh yeah… you and Yang will be shaking a bed and we'll be sharing our room with you." Ruby sounds extra chirpy when informing me about my stay. "I'll let you get situated. If you need anything I'll be downstairs."

I've noticed that I haven't seen the blonde throughout the whole house. "So… where is Yang?"

Ruby shrugs and puts my suitcase. "She's somewhere around here."

Ruby leaves, shutting the door behind her, leaving me to get some time to breathe. The nerves still haven't gone away and I doubt they'll ever go away.

I notice several nerdy things in Ruby area. Tons and tons of movies, books, comics, manga, and anime stuff. Some of the things I recognize and others I don't know at all.

The area, Yang's area, isn't as nerdy. She has figures of boxers and other sports people. Not many movies or books as Ruby does, but it's a good-sized collection. I never really though Yang would be the type of person to collect stuff.

The door creaks open and I turn to face the person walking in. A simple action I'll regret in five milliseconds. Yang walks in wearing a sports bra and boxing shorts, exposing more of her muscular body. A towel is thrown over her shoulder and sweat glittering all over her body, gloves strapped to her hands. From my neck to the tips on my ears is flushed red. A shriek of pure embarrassment rips through my throat.

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 **Did I ever tell you guys how much I love writing embarrassed and flustered Weiss. It's my guilty pleasure and I miss it so much. It's also to move the plot forward to some... fun stuff. Not just because I miss writing the fluffy moments between the freezer burn pair. I'm glad you guys have stuck around this long and hope you stick around till the end. Also, I'm going to try and finish the story before summer starts... which is in like seven weeks for me. DOn't worry I have other fanfic ideas coming up after this. Freezer burn mostly and maybe some bumblebee. Anyway, I'm ranting. Hope y'all enjoyed. Like, comment, subscribe and I'll see you guys later! BYE!**


	14. Chapter 14

**Okay, so I actually didn't plan on uploading this chapter late at night, but I did. If there are any errors, please tell me. I'm not a pushover and I can take some criticism from you guys... okay I'm a bit of a pushover, but that doesn't matter. I hope you guys enjoy and I'll see ya at the bottom.**

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After blowing Yang's ear drums and having to explain to Ruby why I had screamed bloody murder. Yang took a shower and Ruby took me downstairs so another embarrassing incident doesn't happen again.

"It's okay, Weiss." Ruby says stopping the timer on the oven. "If it makes you feel better. It happened to Blake a lot when we went to high school. She got used to it soon enough. I'm sure you'll get used to it too!"

I watch as Ruby pulls out a batch of cookies from the oven and sets them aside. She takes off her colorful oven mitts to come sit by me. She seems so happy all the time like she's still a kid.

"I know it's hard not to freak out when there is a beautiful, busty, muscular, strong young woman around." It sounds like she's speaking from past experience. "But it's worse when that person won't return the same feelings as you have for them."

The thing that comes to my mind is that Ruby is gay. The second thing is who did she fall in love with? Was she in love with someone who was already in love with another person?

Now that Ruby has sent my mind in an endless spiral of questions, I start to look at her in a different light. She's not as fragile and child-like anymore. Ruby fell in love with someone at a young age and got burned in the process. Heck, she's had more experience than me.

"... what happened?" I let the question fall out of my mouth.

She sighs a heavy sigh. "For some reason, I knew you would ask that." I didn't know whether to feel bad or should be concerned. "I took too long to ask her out, but she already fell in love someone else… I'm happy for her and we're still friends, but sometimes I wish she would smile the same way back before I confronted her."

A mulling silence falls over the two of us. It feels wrong to keep pushing Ruby, but I want to know more. I hope it helps Ruby to talk about it or maybe I'm pushing for some sort of clue to help me figure out who she loved and may still love.

Ruby slides her hand over mine. "Don't wait to confess your feelings about Yang, Weiss." She smiles. "I know, with the way you look, act, and pretty much swoon over my sister, that your in love and more."

Swoon? I don't swoon over Yang… do I?

Ruby must be reading my mind because she tells me I do it every time I get close to Yang.

Ruby leans back in her chair taking her off of mine. "So, Weiss? What caught your eye that made you fall in love with my sister?"

I sputter. "Ruby… you… you can't ask that question!"

"Why not?" She asks. "Is there some rule saying I can't ask that question? Besides, you asked about my love life. I'm just returning the favor."

"..."

I don't know how to answer her question. Yang is a nice and caring girl and all, but I don't know what made my emotions go haywire. Was it just a one hit wonder when I looked at Yang when she came rescue me from Cardin? Was I already into girls but the feeling just remained dormant until I found the one? Like a soulmate or something?

"So?"

"... you guess is as good as mine," I admit. "I guess there's something about her that I love."

Ruby smirks mischievously and opens her mouth, but I quickly cut her off. "If you're going say her… figure… then… then… then I'll make you pay!"

"What about my figure and making Rubes pay?" Yang jumps in from behind.

"Yang!" I squeak turning to her.

"Hey there, beautiful!" She giggles.

Yang's wearing baggy sweatpants and an oversized t-shirt that might be showing a little to much shoulder.

My face flushes. "He...hey…"

Yang pulls out a chair and plops down. "So what were you two talking."

"Nothing!" I reply too quickly. The sisters look at me with bemusement. "We talked about… nothing."

Yang shrugs it off with an 'alright' and gets for a few shorts minutes only to come with a plate of chocolate chip cookies and milk.

She sets the plate of sugary sweets in the middle, milk not too far from the plate, and hands Ruby and I a cup each. Yang pours milk for us to enjoy with the sweetly baked cookies.

I took my time, breaking and eating the cookie. It's gooey warm taste put a contempt smile on my face. Yang and Ruby though, dipped their cookies in the milk, swirling it around before pulling them out and taking a huge bite out of theirs.

Yang hummed in delight, swallowing before speaking. "Man! I don't think I'll ever get over how good your homemade cookies taste, Ruby! It's like they get better and better every time I eat them!"

"That's because I put something special in it every time I make it."

"Love." Yang teases.

"No, poison." Ruby deadpans.

Yang snickers and pops another milk soaked cookie in her mouth. I take a gulp of milk to wash the rest of the sugar down my throat before grabbing another one of Ruby's splendid cookies.

"So, Weiss? What brings you here?" Yang asks. "I mean besides the fact that you can't stay away from your totally hot girlfriend." She snickers.

Ruby eyes her eyes and waves Yang's comment off for me. "Don't listen to her, Weiss. I'm sure there is a better reason why you came here."

"Yeah, all you asked me is where I lived then you said you were coming to visit out of the blue," Yang adds.

Again, I don't like lying, but I don't want to have Yang and Ruby panic over me when I'm their guess. I also don't want it to sound like I'm using them for cover. I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place. ' _I might tell them something else, so Ruby doesn't freak out that I'm being threatened by… Cardin? I'm still not entirely sure that Cardin is the one threatening me.'_

"Weiss?" Yang's worried voice catches in my ears. I seem to have panicked her with my silence. "Are you okay?"

It warms my heart to know that she's concerned for me. "Yes, I am okay, Yang. And to answer your question from before. I came here because… Dice had… He had meetings which disrupted his plans for this week. Seeing that I had nothing else to do for the rest of the break, I might as well come see my _totally hot girlfriend._ "

This time Yang rolls her eyes and Ruby snickers. They've bought the lie, but that doesn't make me feel any better about lying to them.

Yang collected the empty glasses of milk and what is felt of the cookies. Ruby grabs the milk jug and helps Yang clean up while I awkwardly sit there and watch them. I feel no of place knowing that back at the manor, maids and butlers would clean after our family would be finished eating. They would straighten up our rooms or tidy up the bathrooms, vacuum, dust, straighten anything that would be out of place. Unlike Yang and Ruby, I didn't grow up cleaning up after myself and it made me feel bad knowing that I'm starting to remember some of the outrageous messes I've made at a younger age.

We moved from the kitchen to the living room to watch some brainless t.v. and enjoy each others company until Ruby said she was meeting up with some friends to go to a nearby comic book shop. It doesn't take long for Yang and me to be alone.

' _Would now be the best time to tell Yang the truth knowing that no one else is home? What if Yang's parents come back any minute? Or Ruby barges in saying she forgot something?'_ I'm panicked and ask Yang to come upstairs with me. In fact, she's more worried than curious as to why I am taking her upstairs.

She asks several questions like ' _are you having a flashback? Does something hurt? Are you on your period?'_ And so on. I say no to every question she throws at me until we are upstairs. Secluded and alone. Away from any trouble that could have happened.

Yang shuts the door behind her and I put a little distance between the two us. I'm wary of how Yang will react to finding out that I've lied to her and telling her that someone has been threatening me.

Yang tries to close the gap but I tell her to stop right where she is.

Yang is perplexed because of my demand. "Weiss? What's going on? You've kind of been on edge since we got here and I'm worried about you."

I mull over her questions and my own thoughts. ' _Do I really want to tell her? What if… what if it affects her too?! Gods, I wouldn't able to live with myself.'_ I'm running out of time to think of a way out of the hole I've dug for myself, but there's no turning back now.

"Yang… I… I lied." I feel pathetic when hearing my voice quiver and shake. "Not… not entirely. The reason why I didn't tell you in the first place is that Ruby was there I didn't want her to know."

Yang contemplates my words, but she keeps her thoughts herself. I swallow hard and push on when she doesn't speak. "... someone… has been threatening me… since our date."

The sound of a tightening fist sends a shiver down my spine. Yang's face darkens in anger. I take step back in fear of what she might do.

"Win… Winter told me to go to a safe place… to… to stay with a person I know will watch over me and I trust." Her fist loosens up when I tell her I trust her. "You… you were the first person to come to mind… Yang, I'm sorry that I'm using you as cover and that I lied to you! I was afraid that it would put you and your family in danger if I told you and… an… and I…" Tears roll down my cheeks. I choke on my words as I try to swallow the horrible sob building up in the back of my throat. "I couldn't live with myself if you got hurt!" I blurt out and the ugly sob flows out of me. "I can't in danger the one true person I love, Yang! I don't want to lose another person I care about." My head hangs low.

Yang remains Silent. My pitiful sobs are the only sound in the room. Water droplets fall on my glasses forming a tiny pool. I remove them to wipe my tears away, but it's no use. The tears always come back.

"I'm… I'm so sorry, Yang." I croak. "I'm so, so sorry."

There is only silence from Yang. The silence is like a dagger, a hot lava like a dagger, easily slicing open my heart.

Then… arms wrap around me. Strong protective arms that give me the slightest hope that Yang won't be mad. Her fingers run through my hair as my head rests on her shoulder.

Yang coos in my ear, trying to calm the emotional wreck I've become. "It's okay, Weiss. I'm not mad. I know you're scared of what could happen, but that doesn't mean you have to face this alone." She pulls me closer. "I've had this feeling that something wasn't right since Friday. I just wish you would have told me sooner, Weiss. But I'm glad you told me."

My sobs turn to hiccups within seconds as Yang continues to coax me into a relaxing state of mind. She runs her fingers up and down my spine. They go in between each bump until her fingers sit between my shoulders and make a circular motion.

"Does anyone else know?" She asks softly.

"Yes…"

"Who?"

I suck in a shaky breath. "Winter… She's part of a special team in Atlas military and security which is why I told her."

Yang quietly mulls over my words. "So… does she know who is threatening you?"

I cringe knowing that she'll freak when she hears Cardin's name -I'm still doubting that it's him- but it's a consequence I'll have to deal with.

"Yes… Cardin has been… threatening me."

Yang's body froze almost as if her soul left her body or her heart gave out from the name.

"What?" The word shakes me. Yang pulls out to look me in the eye. "You mean to tell me that Cardin Winchester has been threatening you?! And you did tell me?!" her voice rises as she speaks.

"I… I didn't know at the time, Yang! It could have been anyone!" I say in a defensive tone. "I still don't think it's him."

Yang groans, cupping her face with both hands. "Oh, my gods. Oh, my gods! Oh, my gods!"

I can tell she's keeping emotions in check. Not just because she needs a clear head but because she's doing it for me. It's something I've notice Yang do several times when I'm around. She's afraid that something will set off a flashback.

She sighs loudly. "Okay, so you came here for cover, but why didn't you just stay in your big mansion? You guys have security, don't you?"

Yang's not dumb. She knows we have security and the best kind at that. But what she doesn't know is that Cardin is in Atlas right now and Dice is having a meeting with his father.

"Well… yes… but Cardin…"

"... you saw him didn't you." It wasn't a question, Yang knew my answer. "That's why you came here… to get away from him." I don't answer which means yes.

"Did he say anything to you? Did he hurt you?" Yang's voice grows with worry as she speaks. "Weiss, tell me!?"

"He outed me in front of everyone at the art museum!" I cry out.

Yang's shocked from my outburst, Gaping mouth and wide-eyed like a deer in the headlights.

"He outed me," I mumbled. a stray tear trickles down my cheek. "He… he called me a dyke."

There's a sudden mood change in the room, I feel it. Yang isn't happy about I've said.

"I should have knocked that little shit's lights out and when I had the chance," Yang growls.

I try pointing out a positive by saying that my stepfather did seem care that I'm a lesbian. That he's very supportive of my relationship with her. But it's no use. Yang is upset that I've been outed.

"That asshole is gonna get it the next time I see his face." She growls.

"Yang! It's… it's okay. Dice threatened anyone who-"

"I'm not mad that he outed," Yang explains. "I mean I know you wanted to keep secluded and all but it's not that. It's how he outed."

My brows knit together as I question what she meant. "What do you mean by the way he outed me?"

Yang takes a deep, clearly getting frustrated. "I mean he called you a dyke. A dyke is like a racial slur but for lesbians."

My mouth makes an 'o' shape, realizing that I have been insulted multiple times by multiple people. Now I feel like a dolt. Then I realized what Dice meant when he said that he didn't like it when Cardin called me a dyke when speaking with him.

"So That's Dice meant," I mumble.

I thought I saw Yang's eyes flash a crimson color. "What?! Your stepfather called you that too!" She roars.

I put my hands up in defense. "N… no, Yang! Dice didn't call me one. He said he didn't appreciate it when Cardin told him I was a dyke."

Yang calms down now knowing that Dice didn't call me one. "Oh…"

The tenseness in the air fades away and I'm able to relax, unknowing that I clenched every muscle in my body. They feel a bit sore from the tightness. I bring my gaze down to my water stained glasses and try to rub the water off but it only smears the water every which way.

"Your stepfather is pretty cool for standing up for you like that." Yang's soft tone has returned. She plucks the glasses from my hands. Using her t-shift as a cloth, Yang wipes the water away. She then slips back on my face. "I hope I can meet him at the charity next month."

I tuck a loose strand of white hair behind my ear. "I'm sure he'll want to meet his daughter's girlfriend."

"Come here pocket princess." She giggles pulling me into a hug.

I'm tucked under her chin… almost tucked under her chin. A blissful feeling overcomes my body. It's like this warm and fuzzy feeling growing in my chest that could burst like a candy-filled pinata that's been poked at.

"I got you a present," Yang says in a fruity voice.

I look up at her. "Oh and what is- Mfh!" Her lips moosh against mine. Every emotion rises in my body and explodes like fireworks in the night sky. I never wanted this feeling to go away. Like morning follows night. Like a book without end. Like ecstasy.

Without warning, the door swings open and a woman comes in. "Yang. Have you seen- Oh, my!"

Yang pulls away, immediately looking at the woman bug-eyed and a strong blush covering her neck to the tips of her ears. "Mom! What are you doing?!"

"What do my mean what am I doing? I'm being a mother and looking after my daughters." She exclaims taking a peek over Yang's shoulder to me. "But clearly someone is taking care of you for me." She smiles warmly.

"What do you need?" Yang asks stepping in between me and the woman's look. "I don't need you embarrassing me more than you already have."

"Oh, trust me as long as she's here, I'll embarrass you for every minute of it."

Yang groans in disapproval. "Okay, okay, okay! What do you need?"

"I want to know where Ruby ran off to and we are about to have some dinner." Yang's Mom says. "Oh and don't forget to tell Tia that your girlfriend here." With that, Yang's Mom leaves upstairs, alone once again.

Yang sighs and turns back to me. "Sorry about that. I didn't think my family would be back so early from their shopping trip."

I wave it off. "Your stepmother seems nice."

"Summer super nice and I can't wait for you to meet my dad and… uncle." She tone changes drastically.

I'm guessing it's the same uncle that cut her cheek and threatened both her and Ruby. I slide my hand into hers, showing her that I'm here for her.

"I'm here, Yang. I've been in a similar situation just like you have and…" I swallow hard, knowing that this could be some I regret. Knowing Yang though, I highly doubt it. "If it helps… I'll show you my scar."

Yang squeezes my hand and I squeeze back.

"Thank you, Weiss." She mumbles.

I smile. "Your welcome."

We go downstairs to be greeted by a blond haired man standing by the door with a hand full of groceries and a greyish haired man sat on the couch waiting for something. I don't know why exactly, but he seems to be enjoying himself when flipping through the channels as he waits for dinner.

"Hey, dad. I want you to meet someone." Yang says to the blond man.

Clearly it's Yang's dad. With that shaggy blond hair, the way he stands, and how his muscle pop out of his shirt is a dead give away.

"I'll meet your friend here in a second, sweetheart. My arms are filled to the brim with goods." her dad replies in a groan as he tries to balance the bags of food in his arms.

He nearly dropped one, luckily Yang caught it just in time and even took some bags out of her father's arms. I watch as she takes the groceries in the kitchen, leaving me in the living room with the man on the couch. The same man who gave her the scar on her left cheek

"So? Your Yang's girlfriend, huh?" The man asks in a monotone voice.

"Ye… Yes, sir." I answer baffled. ' _How did he know about our relationship? Yang has told me that her parents don't mind their daughter dating another girl. Her stepmother is pretty cool in my opinion and her dad seems… pretty chill? But I have mixed feelings about her uncle though.'_

"Weiss Schnee." He stands and turns to me. "I'm Qrow, Yang's uncle. I used to work with your sister."

The man is tall and scrawny. With his black pants and red shirt, hunched shoulders, grump look, and palish red eyes, He looks somewhat a bit too intimidating for me to handle on my own.

"O-oh… really?" I try to keep my voice leveled. "Then how come she never mentions you?" Once the question slips past my mouth I immediately regret it.

Qrow's facial expression turns grim. "Hm, I'm not surprised about that. Mostly because I told her not to."

His words send my mind into a tycoon of questions as to why he wanted Winter not to mention him anymore. It's almost as if he wanted to disappear. And to add on top of that, Yang has never mentioned what Qrow did for a living nor did she ever say anything about his past.

"Look kid. I'm sure you're a pretty smart girl and that guy stalking you isn't who you think it is."

"But how do-"

"Just listen carefully. I understand that you have many questions, but I need you to pretend that this talk never happened. The only reason why I'm telling you this is because I'm trying to protect my niece from dangerous people and I'm sure your sister will do a good job watching after you." He says.

I can't possibly run my head around all the information he has given me. It's too much for to understand what's happening and what's going to happen. What does all this mean for Yang and me? What will happen to us? To our relationship?

"It's a lot to take in. But I'm telling you to watch your back." He finishes.

Qrow disappears into the kitchen leaving me baffled, confused and scared for my life. Yang comes out of the kitchen and seems to notice that has made me look distraught.

"Hey? Are you okay?" Yang asks.

I shake my head. "No, I need to talk to you about your uncle."

This wraps in all of Yang's attention. "What? What did he do to you? Did he hurt you?"

Once again I shake my head. "No he… he told me something… Something that you need to know... But… but not here and… not now."

Yang grows more concern by the second. "We'll talk later tonight when everyone's asleep. Okay?"

I nod. "Okay."

Yang puts on a confident smile to help me cool my nerves. "Okay. For now else just enjoy some dinner."

I nod again and Yang leads me into the kitchen. During my conversation with Yang, I felt a pair of red eyes glaring at me from afar.

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 **So the last part between Weiss and Qrow was a quick add-on because I thought the chapter was a bit too short for my taste. Also, the plot will get thicker and thicker as I continue to add on more chapters. And if you guys are where the college part of this _college au_ went, don't worry. it's coming very soon. Hope you guys in enjoy. Have a beautiful weekend. And don't forget to like, comment, subscribe, and I'll see ya later! BYE!**


	15. Chapter 15

**Hello everybody! Hope y'all are having an amazing week at school, work, home, or wherever you're at during this time of day. So fun stuff is about to happen! All I can say is that it's going to be crazy. Anyway, hope you guys enjoy this chapter and I'll see you at the bottom.**

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He's been glaring at me since my little talk with Yang. They're subtle glances every now and then when sitting at the dinner table. Qrow didn't actually watch me as I ate dinner. That would have been uncomfortable for all of us. The many questions I had spinning around in my mind had to be pushed aside so I could enjoy dinner.

The spaghetti and meatballs Miss Rose made were delectable as well as the garlic bread. Yang told me that her dad isn't the best cook but he can squeeze the best lemonade in town which is pretty funny for a man with these beefy muscles to make such a sweet drink. Yang was right of course. It's the best lemonade I've ever had! I'm not much of a lemonade person so that's saying something.

"So, Weiss? How did you and Yang meet?" Mister Xiao-Long asks before taking a big bite of noodles.

I set down my lemonade to answer. "We met at school. Yang came up to help me… with something and we kind ran into each other after the school day was over."

Yang takes it upon herself to go into detail. "She was struggling with someone and I decided to give her a hand, then I took her back to her dorm."

"Ah… Cardin." Mister Xiao-Long either fingered it out quickly or Yang had been in trouble with him before. "I've heard that he's a real jerk. Yang has had several run-ins with him. One time she gave him a black eye for…" he cuts himself off when Yang glares at him. "You know what? It's my story to tell."

We eat for at least a minute in silence until Miss Rose takes it upon herself to asks another question. "You seem to be a shy girl, Weiss. The opposite of Yang, almost. And I'm wondering if you two share any interests."

"Well your daughter did give me a show to watch over the break and I'm intrigued by it," I say, rolling up some spaghetti with my fork. Now that I think about it, a new season is coming this Friday. Maybe Yang and I can watch It together!

Mister Xiao-long starts to chuckle. "Let me guess… Voltron. When Yang was younger she would watch that show non-stop. She was obsessed with Voltron. So when a new show about Voltron was coming out, Yang had to refresh her memory and binge-watched the old show in at least two days. Oh, and did she ever tell you about that vintage doll she bought."  
"he's not a doll, dad." Yang corrects her dad. "He's a figurine. And yes I have told her."

"Is there anything else you and Yang have in common?"

"I'm sure there are many things that we have in common, Miss Rose-"

"Summer, sweetheart. There's no need for the formalities." Miss Rose says.

I'm not sure how I feel about calling Yang's stepmother by her first name. "Okay… Summer… I'm sure Yang and I have many things in common we just haven't found them yet."

"My old man always told me that opposites attract." Mister Xiao-Long.

"He sounds like a wise man, Mister Xiao-Long."

"Tia is fine." He smiles brightly.

"Right… sorry, I've always been careful of what to call people." If I called someone, with a higher standard, by the wrong name then I would be sure to get a lecture in front of everyone.

"Oh, it's fine. We know you come from a rich family and a prestigious one at that. Being well mannered is nothing to be ashamed of." Miss… Summer says with a small smile.

I'm grateful that they understand where I'm coming from and don't seem to mind the little mistakes I make when addressing them. It'll be something that I will have to get used to when being around Yang's parents. The rest of dinner goes smoothly and we all help put the leftovers and dirty dishes away afterward. It takes me a second to figure what I'm doing. I'm glad Yang is there to tell me what am supposed to do or I might have stood there awkwardly watching the family pick up after themselves.

While packing up the spaghetti, I let my mind wander for a moment. ' _Qrow hasn't said a word to me nor is he trying to stop me from telling Yang what he told me. I know he wants to protect her but hiding something as dangerous as this could do the exact opposite to her. I think the only reason why he hasn't stopped me is that it's my choice on whether I should tell Yang or not.'_

Qrow disappeared after we finished cleaning up dinner and I don't see him for the rest of the night. I think it's because he regrets telling me this. He'll look like something completely different in Yang's eyes. She sees him as a dangerous man who threatens her and her sister. But telling her that he's actually protecting her could help their relationship. I could fix this. I can fix this!

We all moved to the living room to play some video games. _Dance dance revolution, Mario Kart,_ and so on. Yang and Tia had been at each other's throats when playing _Mario Kart._ No matter how hard either of them tried, both would be tied in the end of the round.

The front door creaks open and Ruby comes walking in with a plastic bag filled with comic books. She has this big smile on her face, knowing that her comic book shopping spree was a success. She closes the door with a kick and joins me and Summer on the couch.

"So who's winning?" She asks while kicking off her shoes. They land with a thump.

"Their both have tied the last four rounds and I doubt neither will give in to the other." Summer replies.

"Huh. Well, I'm not waiting around to let them settle this. It's nearly ten and I've been walking around all day and I'm pretty sure I need a shower." Ruby gets back up and heads upstairs to take a shower.

"AHHHHH! Make the turn!" Yang cries. She looks so intense when jamming her thumb into the gas button thinking that she can go faster.

She makes the turn and a loud cackle fills the room as she makes her way to the finish line.

"Oh, no you don't!" Tia cries out with confidence.

He throws a blue shell and it comes spiraling towards Yang's character. I watch with suspenseful excitement as the shell is mere feet away.

"You always seem to forget Dad," Yang smirks. Her character has this box in its hand as the shell is just about to hit her.

She pushes a button and the box sends out a shock wave, breaking the blue shell just before crossing the finish line.

"No!"

"Yes!"

The two blonds yell as Yang passes the finish line taking first place.

"I demand a rematch!" Tia grumbles in defeat.

"You're on, old man!"

"I think that's quite enough games for tonight, Yang. Why don't you and Weiss go to bed." Summer steps in before the two could start another game.

"But I need to kick Yang's butt in Mario Kart." Tia whines.

"Yeah, let the old man lose one more race." Yang cheers

Summer shakes her head no at the two blonds. They both groan and put the game away. Yang says goodnight to both of her parents, giving them a hug.

"Make sure to get some extra blankets for tonight. I heard a thunderstorm is rolling in overnight." Summer says giving us a heads up.

I don't admonish it at first, but Yang's happy expression falters for a second before she pulls herself back together. They break away from their and Yang leads me upstairs.

"So my bed may not be big enough for the two of us, so if you want to sleep in my bed I can sleep on the couch downstairs," Yang informs me as we walk into the sisters' room.

Ruby is already wrapped up in a blanket reading a newly bought comic. She looks so snug and happy.

"Could we at least try and fit in the bed before you jump to conclusions," I say.

Yang turns to me with a mischievous smirk. "Is someone asking for some snuggle time?"

I put my hands up defense, face red as I stumble over my words. "What? N… no I just don't want… I don't want you to be alone… that's all."

Yang teasingly rolls her eyes. "Sure."

I don't argue; I know it only fuels the flames. Yang leads me to the bathroom saying that if I need to take a shower fresh towels are under the cabinet for me. I tell her that I am just simply tired and I

wish to go to bed. Yang is not offended by my decline.

"Well, bedtime then." She says.

I hum in agreement and pulls a fresh pair of pj's. Sweatpants -much thinner for when it gets hot mind you- and an oversized t-shirt. I turn to Yang to warn her that I'll be using the bathroom to change so that no more embarrassing accident happen again. Only for one did happen when I turned around to see Yang putting on a clean shirt, flashing me with her abs.

I could feel the blood rushing to my cheeks as Yang pulls her shirt down over her well-toned body.

"Hey, Weiss? Are you okay?" Yang's question snaps me back to reality.

"Um… Yeah… yeah, I'm totally fine." I sputter. "I was just going to tell you that I'll be changing in the bathroom.

"Oh, hold on a second and let me brush my teeth real quick." Yang zooms over to the bathroom, disappearing for a minute two and pops back out. "Okay! It's all yours. I'll be in bed waiting for you."

I smile and take the bathroom for myself, shutting the door and locking it. The first thing I do is brush my teeth for at least two minutes then I take off my pants and slip on the sweats. I unbutton my blouse and let it slide off my shoulders. The first thing my eyes fall on to the hideous scar. The dark pink skin that burns with a fiery passion, reminding me of that night.

I let my fingers brush over the indentation. Its jagged ugliness is the opposite of Yang's scar. She got lucky that it was a blade and not a bottle. The scar begins to burn from the remembrance. I throw my shirt on, gather my clothes and dash out of the bathroom only run right into Ruby. We tumble to the floor.

I pop up and immediately start to apologize. "Sorry, Ruby! I… I wasn't paying attention to how long I was taking the bathroom. I got distracted and… and."

Ruby snickers. "Chill out, Weiss. Take all the time you need."

I nod and help her up. She gives me a friendly smile before disappearing into the bathroom. When approaching Yang's bed, she tells me to put my clothes in the basket and we'll wash them tomorrow. I do as I'm told throw them in the basket. Yang scoots over, covers raised, to let me in. I slide in perfectly and Yang pulls me in closer.

"So, do you wanna be the little spoon and I'll be the big snoop?" Yang asks as she pulls off my glasses and sets them down on the nightstand behind her.

My brows knit together in questioning. "Little spoon? Is this a game or…"

Yang giggle. "No, dingus. Turn around." I look at her with suspicion. "I promise I won't tickle you."

Hearing her promise doesn't make me any better, but I turn around anyway. Yang wraps her arm around my torso and pulls me in close to her. I can feel her chest and well-chiseled stomach pressing up against my back. Like a thermal, the heat rises inside me.

"Hey, Rubes? Can you flip off the light?" Yang calls to her sister.

"Okay, but no funny business. Got it!"

Yang groans. "Oh, my gods, Ruby just turn off the light!"

"Okay, okay."

The room goes dark. I can hear Ruby scurry around until her bed springs squeak as she crawls in bed.

"Night, guys!" Ruby calls to us.

"Night, sis!" Yang calls before her voice becomes soft and she whispers in my ear. "Goodnight, princess."

A half smile creeps up on my face. "Goodnight… Dragon."

A clap of thunder wakes me up. It's not a startled wake up call, I just simply woke up. Rain raps against the roof of the house and lightning flashes in the windows. Another roar of thunder causes the house to rumble in fear. I groan and roll over, reaching my hand out the find Yang… only… she's not there. The space that she's supposed to fill is empty and cold. I open my eyes to that the bathroom light is on. Ruby is missing from her bed as well.

Sobs ebb from the bathroom. They're too low to be Ruby who's crying. It's… it's Yang! I waste no time to put on my glasses, crawl out of bed and walk slowly to the bathroom. The consequences never cross my mind when I'm standing outside of the doorframe to listen in on the two sisters conversation.

"It burns, Ruby! It burns so much!" Yang's sobs are muffled. Most likely because she's using her sister shoulder to cry on.

"I'm sorry, Yang. I'm so so, sorry." It's the only thing Ruby can say to her sister.

My heart aches for Yang. She's done so much for me and she's been there for me. Now it's time for me to put on a brave face and return the favor.

Before I knew what I was doing, I pushed open the door to see Yang slouched against the tub, head between her knees, and Ruby next to her sister, rubbing her back to try and calm her.

Ruby turns to me and puts a finger to her lips telling me to keep quiet. Something inside me is telling me otherwise.

"Yang?" My voice much softer than I thought.

Yang's head snaps up, terror in her eyes are as real as the tears on her face. I feel my heart ache for her.

"Weiss,"Yang chokes on her words. "I… I… I'm sorry. I should have had this under control by now and-"

No. No! No! Don't apologize, Yang. It's not your fault. It's not your fault!

"Stop it," I demand.

Yang's mouth gapes when my voice rises. I take a seat in front of her and her hand in mine. I don't admonish the scars on her hands from years of fighting and playing outside.

I flip her hand and let my fingers trace her palm. They're rough but they still have this softness to them. Strong and yet gentle. Now is a perfect time to show her, but I feel like showing her isn't enough. I want her to feel it, just like she had let me feel hers.

I ask Ruby to leave the room. I don't want an audience for what I'm going to do next. She doesn't argue and leaves, shutting the door behind her.

I turn to Yang's beautiful lilac eyes. Even when they are red and puffy, her eyes will always be more beautiful than diamonds.

The nerves build up inside and I take a deep breath before speaking. "Yang… I'm going to do something I've never let anyone else do. With or without me, but I trust you and I love you and I can't stand seeing you like this."

Yang nods, showing me that she understands. I nod back and build up the courage before diving in. I come closer to Yang, she allows to sit in her lap and guide her hand to the hem of my shirt. My breath becomes short and shallow from the nervous.

Yang tries to calm me down. "You don't have to-"

"No!" My voice rises for the second time. "You've been there for me, Yang. Now it's my turn to be there for you."

Yang stays silent this time. I slip her hand under my shirt and let her finger graze against my skin. Pulling her hand up until I put my thumb runs over the indentation of the scar and replace it with Yang's fingers. She doesn't see it, but she can feel it.

While all of this happening, I'm having a panic attack on the inside.

Her thumb brushes up and down the scar. I feel her touch against my ribs. Then she does something I don't expect her to do. Yang drags her thumb up almost past the scar. I gasp and grab her hand to keep Yang from going up past area that I want her to go.

Yang holds her breath when she realizes she has overstepped the boundaries. "Sorry." She pulls her hand away.

She unsure of what to say at first, but I'm glad she spoke up though."... Thanks… for trusting me with something like that, Weiss… it's hard letting someone do something like that."

I hadn't realized I've been holding my own breath until I speak. "It… it's hard for… for me to open up to people. Nobody has ever gotten me to let them feel my scar and… and it's especially difficult to talk about it when many don't understand what I've been through… But you do, Yang. That's why I love you so much. Because you're there for me, but that doesn't mean you have to leave me in the dark when _you_ need help. I'm here for you just you're there for me."

Tears slowly roll down Yang's cheek. She wipes them away. "Thank you, Weiss. Thank you for being here at my weakest and I hope you'll be here when I'm at my strongest."

I pull her into a hug. "Dumb blonde."

"Pocket princess." She chokes out.

We enjoy our little embrace until Ruby knocks on the door, asking if we're okay.

"Ye… yeah, Rubes, we're fine." Yang replies.

I clamber off of Yang, help her up and we go back to bed. Yang decides to settle herself between my legs. I know it sounds bad but it's not like that. Her arms wrap my stomach and her head nuzzled against my chest.

I'm not going to tell you that I liked or didn't like the action. Let's just say that this time was less… awkward than last time… yeah, uh… yeah. Moving on!

I run my finger through her hair to coax her into a lulling sleep. Within seconds, Yang is out like an overused lightbulb. It makes me sad seeing her overworked and tired from the rollercoaster of emotion that she's been on tonight.

As the storm continues, showing no hesitation of slowing down, I fall asleep.

When I wake up the next morning, Yang is gone as well as Ruby. Laughter echoes from downstairs. ' _They must be making breakfast… I guess it's the perfect time to take a shower.'_ I shoot Yang a text stating that I'll be in the shower for a couple of minutes. It's a precaution I'm taking now because I don't need anything embarrassing happening to me for the rest of this trip.

 _Would you like me to join you?_ My face burns up when the image of Yang and I in the shower together flashes in my mind.

I frantically text no to her. It's not that I don't mind seeing naked people. I see it all the time in art, painting, sculptures. That's definitely, not the issue. It's… because I'm self-conscious about my body, my look. Yang just looks so confident with her body. With a womanly figure and a muscular figure to match it, there's no reason why she wouldn't feel confident. I'm pale as paste and I don't have a womanly figure and I definitely don't have a muscular figure.

 _Okay, princess. Hurry though! Pancakes are almost done and I don't want them to get cold._ Yang replies.

I get out of bed, slip on my glasses, and pull out some jeans, a white shirt and flannel to complete the look.

Once in the bathroom, I set my clothes aside and turn on the hot water. Waiting for the water to warm up, I strip down to nothing. I feel the water before getting in. Nice and warm.

I slip behind the curtain and soak in the water. Most of the fancy hair care products in the shower are for Yang's golden blonde mane. Luckily, I brought my own shampoo and conditioner. The cool liquid slowly drips into my hair and I begin to scrub.

After the shower, I quickly get dressed, twiddle my hair into a braid and go downstairs to join Yang and her family for breakfast. I can smell the bacon, pancakes, and egg from here.

They're all sitting at the table except for one. Qrow. He's been missing since last night and we haven't spoken since the giant dump of information he thrust upon me. Think about the conversation made me realize that I hadn't told Yang.

Maybe it's for the best if I keep this from her. Qrow told me not to tell her in the first place.

"Yo, princess! Come take a seat!" Yang waves me over.

I push the thought of the conversation and Qrow aside to enjoy breakfast with the Rose/Xiao-Long family. I take a seat next to Yang, who is still in her pjs, and for the pancake, plate to be passed to me.

"You look beautiful, Weiss." A light blush forms on my cheeks from her complement. "I hope it's because of the surprise date Yang's taking you on." Summer adds, smiling.

I'm taken off guard when she says surprise date. Yang frantically tries to save the 'surprise' but it's no use. The plan is already ruined before it began.

"I'm sorry, sweetheart! I thought she figured it out on her own." Summer apologize. She looks bummed to now that I know what's going on.

"It's fine, Mom. Honest… although, I hardly doubt Weiss would have figured it out in time." Yang teases.

I plop two fluffy round pancakes on my plate and the rest to Ruby. "I'm smarter than most, Yang. Though, I won't have a problem figuring it out seeing that you're not very subtle with things like this."

"Oh, yeah? I took you off guard on our first date even when I told you _about_ the date."

We go back and forth with our playful teasing until Ruby says she's had enough of us two 'lovebirds' and leaves the kitchen. It's funny watching her shove an entire pancake in her mouth as she walked. I surprised she didn't choke.

"Seeing that Summer ruined the surprise, where are you taking Weiss?" Tia askes before shoving a forkful in eggs in his mouth.

"Summer may have ruined to the surprise date, but the surprise 'place' is under lock and key."

I don't show it, but I'm excited to know where she's taking me.

"And Don't even to get it out of me, Weiss," Yang speaks up catching my attention. "It's a surprise for a reason."

Now I'm intrigued as to what Yang has in store for me.

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 **So the fun stuff will be in the next chapter. I would have had this chapter out sooner, but it felt short to me so I had to add some stuff to it. If you guys see any mistakes, please tell me so it can help me out when writing the next chapter. Y'all input mean a lot to me. Hope you guys enjoy. Like, comment, subscribe, and I'll see you guys later! BYE!**


	16. Chapter 16

**So this is a two-part dating scene. I'll upload the next half in a couple of days. Hope you guys are enjoying the story so far and yes I spelled Tai's name wrong. I've been losing sleep trying to get these chapters done on time. Any enjoy the chapter and I'll see you guys at the bottom.**

* * *

After cleaning up, Yang goes back upstairs to get ready for our 'surprise' date while I look at the pictures hanging on the walls in the living room. Some are of Ruby and Yang as kids and as adults. One picture is of Little Yang be chased around by a corgi puppy, another is a family portrait of them all including the dogs.

"We're going to have to update that one soon," Tai says from behind.

I gasp, turn on my heels, and face him. Tia has his big beefy arms wrapped protectively around something. A black fuzzy mass of some sort.

"Sorry," he chuckles, "didn't mean to scare you."

The blond stands next to me as I go back to examine the photo of the Rose/Xiao-Long family.

"We took that picture the day before Ruby went to college. She was a nervous wreck when getting on the train to go to Beacon. The first she called us crying about how much she would be in at the end of her college career and that she would be homeless and proceeded to say that no one wanted to marry a homeless person."

It definitely sounds like something Ruby would do. Tai than explained to me the reason why she said that is because Yang kept telling Ruby that if she didn't get a job soon then she would be broke and living out on the streets.

' _Oh, Yang. Always teasing your sister. Just so you can give her a panic attack.'_

"The reason we have to retake this picture is that we just got a new member of the family." Tai then scoops the little fuzzy thing out of his arms and hands it to me. "This little guy."

It shallow blue eyes slowly blink and it meows. A kitten. My heart melts completely as I hold it close my being. I rub my finger between its ear. A little rumble vibrates my hand as it starts to purr.

"How old is…" I pause, hoping Tai can finish my sentence.

"Shallow. She's about two and a half months old and seems to need some help every once in awhile. But besides that, Shallow is a healthy kitten." He leads in close to me so no one else can hear. "Don't tell Ruby this, but… Shallow is a real snuggler. If Ruby finds out then she'll hog the fuzz ball for the rest her life."

I giggle. That does sound like something Ruby would do as well. Although Ruby may be awkward at times, I still enjoy her presence. It's somewhat the same as Yang's except she's more enjettic and awkward.

I hear Yang come thumping down the stairs. She's wearing some jean shorts -shorts that show a little much in my opinion. Enough to make me blush as well- and an oversized orange hoodie. The same hoodie that she wore when we first met.

"Alright," Yang cheers when she jumps to the bottom step. "Are you ready for the best surprise date of your life!"

A smile creeps up on my lips and I roll my eyes. "There is no _surprise_ in the surprise date if Summer told me."

"Hey!" Yang jams a finger at me. "I don't need your sass, Schnee."

Tai chuckles. I hand him back Shallow, although I really didn't want. It takes all my willpower to walk out that front door with Yang instead of the adorable little kitten.

The dogs immediately pop up from their resting areas to see who has exited the house. Ember and Crescent effortlessly make their way over to us, but the little corgi, Zwei, struggles in the heat.

Yang gives both of her beloved the equal amount of love while I make my way over to the tired old corgi and squat down next to him.

My fingers brush against his slick black fur coat and make my way to his ear, giving him a good ear scratching. He groans with pleasure and leans into my hand. I giggle when seeing the old corgi so happy.

"Okay, Weiss! You ready to head out!" It isn't a question for me to answer because Yang already knows it. "Come on! We'll take my dads car."

A silver car sat in the driveway behind an SUV. Yang hops in the driver seat and I take the passenger seat. We buckle up and Yang turns on the car. Heavy metal rock music blares from the speakers giving of us a heart attack. Yang frantically pushes a button and the song cuts off.

Yang chuckles sheepishly. "Sorry about that."

"Was that the surprise?" I ask trying to slow my racing heart.

She snickers. "No. This surprise is much better than getting a heart attack from loud music."

She swerves the car around and drives down the long dirt road. Trees slowly roll by as turns on to the paved road at the end. Trees soon flatten into a grassy plain and then building pop up from nowhere. Few people have been walking around as well as some stores not even being open yet. One store that sticks out to me is a nearby cafe and right next to it is a sandwich shop.

"There's a beach just outside of town. I hope you brought a swimsuit for Saturday cause we're going there." Yang says as she parks. She quickly hops out of the car to open my car door. "Madam!" Her voice deepens as she holds out a hand.

"Thank you." I take the hand and step out.

Yang shuts the door and locks car behind me. A nice breeze rolls through the town like it was already summer vacation.

"I know the princess likes coffee. Would you like to stop by and get something to help you wake up a little more?"

Coffee always makes my mornings more barible. But today I didn't feel like drinking my caffeinated drink this morning. I already have all the energy I need coming from the little sun dragon. And even if I do get tired I'm sure Yang wouldn't mind carrying me around. Knowing Yang, she would be delighted to show off our fluffy relationship. She did that to Neptune when she took me to get coffee in the morning. Well, it was more of a surprise for her to show up.

 _She scooped me up bridal style. "Yang!" I yelp._

" _Heya, princess!" Yang cheers. "What are you doing up so early?"_

 _I cover my face with both hands but I'm sure it doesn't help hide the blush on my face. "What are you doing?"_

 _She plants a kiss on my cheek and carries me across the street. I'm lucky enough to know that no one is out at this hour… hopefully._

" _Oh, you know. Just seeing how my little snowflake is doing!" She's more cheery than usual._

 _I've found out that Yang isn't much of a morning person. She isn't much of a night owl either. But she decided to get up super early just for me. I think it's because she's super excited about tonight. Seeing that tonight will be my first date, Yang wants to make this day special for me._

" _So this why you get up at 'O' dark thirty." She cocks her head towards the Beacon coffee shop._

" _Yes. Now can you put me down!" I plead._

" _Haha, nope!" Yang twirled me around._

 _My hands lunge for the hem of my skirt to keep myself from flashing… no one I guess, but you never know._

" _Hey! Watch the skirt!"_

" _Why? You have nice legs."_

 _A whine ebbs from my throat as I cover up my blushing face again. Yang finally puts me down when we get to the other side of the street._

" _You shouldn't be ashamed of your lovely legs." She says._

 _I'm not ashamed of my legs. It's the fact that Yang could have made me accidentally flash some random stranger that could be some creep or pervert with a camera._

" _Quit talking about my legs." I shove her in a playful way… I suppose._

 _Yang giggles and opens the door to the coffee shop for me._

 _Neptune welcomes us. "Hello, Weiss! Welcome ba-... oh, no. Not you!" He groans when he sees Yang in the background._

" _Hey, waterboy. Nice hat!" Yang snickers._

 _Neptune groans again. "You know when Sun texted me, asking about what time Weiss comes to get coffee. I knew it was because you wanted to know. Sun's half assed lies aren't worth listening to."_

" _Yeah! Your boyfriend is a real charmer." Yang chuckles._

 _I watch the two talk to each other for at least five minutes until realization struck me like lightning. I never told Yang I drink coffee nor did I ever tell her what time I got here. That's why she asked Sun to ask Neptune to… wait a second. He's gay!?_

" _You're gay?!" I blurt out._

 _Yang and Neptune turn to me. An ear to ear grin is on Yang's face while Neptune is burning up with embarrassment._

" _Y… Yes."_

 _Yang bursts into laughter. "The gayest boy around!"_

" _You're gay too, Yang!" He growls._

" _Nah dip, Sherlock!" Yang continues to laugh. She's able to jab her thumb at me. "I mean, my girlfriend is right there."_

 _Neptune's eyes nearly pop out of his skull, mouth agape and completely dubstruck. "You're… you're… she… both of you… dating?"_

 _I nod. It's almost as if he can't comprehend the fact that I'm either dating Yang or that I'm a lesbian. It could be both._

" _There is no possible way you picked up the daughter of the fourth wealthiest family in the world," Neptune says baffled._

" _Third actually." I correct him._

 _Yang smiles and turns to me. "So what do you want to eat?"_

" _Oh, no, I didn't eat breakfast. I just order a simple cup of coffee." I say._

" _Really?" Yang raises a brow. "You run on coffee until lunch time?"_

 _I nod again and swiftly step by my blonde girlfriend. "Just the regular Neptune." I hand him my card._

" _Um… Uh, yeah, yeah. Okay." It takes Neptune a second to regain his composure and to start functioning like a human being again._

 _He plucks the card from my hand, swipes and starts making the coffee. He comes back though after realizing he hasn't given my card back. I take my regular seat, Yang follows._

" _So you drink coffee for breakfast and don't eat anything until lunch? Wow! That sounds impossible for me to do." Yang takes a seat next to me, wrapping her arm my shoulder and pulling me close._

 _I never realize tired I am until I lean on Yang. She always seems to have this warm and protective aura that I'm always drawn to. Yang rubs my arm up and down as she babbles on about something. My eyelids grow heavy and I almost fall into a lulling sleep then Yang nudges me._

" _See, you're already falling asleep and you haven't eaten anything!" Yang points out. She's starting to sound like my mother._

" _I haven't had my coffee either." I yawn._

 _Yang brows raise. "You haven't had your morning kiss as well."_

 _She flips me around and pulls me into a deep kiss. The kiss wakes me up with a blast of shock. We hold the kiss for what felt like minutes until Yang pulls, both of us breathing heavily._

" _Woah… That never gets old." Yang says between puffs of air. She leads closer, her voice fruity. "Ready for round two."_

 _I lean in on my own this to go for another fluffy warm kiss. The sentimental moment is ruined when Neptune awkwardly coughs. We quickly separate opposite sides of the chair_

" _Um… this is yours." He sets the cup down and scurries off._

 _Yang coughs and slides me the coffee. "Here." After she does, we wait in silence. Wandering Neptune caught us red handed._

 _I sip the warm cup, but the only thing I can taste is Yang's lips._

"Hey, Weiss?" Yang's voice wipes the memory from my mind for a moment. "You look like you've been thinking real hard about something. Are you okay?"

I had forgotten that Yang asked if I wanted coffee and I don't remember answering nor have I answered the question she just asked.

"Yes, Yang. I'm fine." I reply. "I accidentally got caught up in deep thinking."

"So is that a yes or a no to coffee?"

"No, thank you. I loved the breakfast your family made this morning."

"Yeah! I had to get up early to make pancakes, though it was hard getting out of bed this morning. You literally wouldn't let me go." Yang giggles.

My face flushes as I picture Yang struggle to climb out of bed with me glued to her. Yang explains to me that she's a bit of a cuddler as well. _A bit_ is under exaggerated though. Yang is a literal Bear when it comes to taking short naps or sleeping together. One time I was almost late for class because of her.

"So where do you want to go in this little lovely town of mine?" Yang says with a smile.

I take her hand in mine. "I heard you guys have a bookstore. I would like to start there."

Her smile broads. "Your wish is my command."

We enjoy the early morning walk down town. We pass the ice cream shop from yesterday, it doesn't open until noon. I'm saddened by this.

We continue to walk down the street until I get distracted by a little toy shop. Wander world is painted in gold with a red trim, The words in a fancy swirly font. It's eye catching and Yang knows it.

"Do you want to go in here?"

I know it sounds silly for a college girl to walk into a toy store and see all the toys, but this place reminds me so much of Will whenever we went to a store like this in Atlas.

"Yes…" I whisper.

Yang pushes open the door. A bell chimes above us as we walk in. An old man wearing thin-rimmed glasses, an old red shirt with the store's names on it and jeans.

When he sees that customers have waked in, he smiles a rosy cheeked smile like Santa.

"Hello there, Yang!" His as cheery as Santa too.

Yang waves. "Hey, Gus! How are you on this fine morning?"

"Oh, you know," he walks around the corner.

For some reason, I thought he'd be a short man with a hunched back, but he's taller than me. A tall and steady man who could be in his fifties or sixties still.

"Would you mind introducing me to your friend." He asks.

"Gus, this is Weiss. Weiss, this is Gus." His eyes grow wide when hearing my name.

"Weiss? As in Weiss Schnee?"

"Yes, sir," I say, sticking out my hand for him to shake.

He shakes my hand without a second thought. "I'm delighted to see someone with such a sharp mind and shaper eyes for to come into my shop! I've heard many stories about your art! Each piece is beautiful and elegant!"

I can tell he's nervous, but a good man at heart. "Thank you, sir."

He finally let's go of my hand and continues to babble on about my artwork. Though it was only one piece of art, it ended going into a museum somewhere in Mistal.

"Is it okay if we have a look around, Gus? I know you don't open for another hour and-"

"Nonsense!" He chuckles. "After scaring those thugs off two years ago? Anything for you, Yang."

"Thanks, Gus."

"Besides," He adds. "It's better to let customers in at ten than eleven when all of the other shops are opening."

Gus retreats back to his counter letting us wonder the store. So many different types of toys on the shelves. Wood, metal, rubber, plastic, crafted, built, glued, tied. It's impossible to walk down an isle without looking at something new. I almost think Gus is the real Santa Claus.

One thing that catches my eye is a toy train on a track. Whistling and puffing smoke, rolling through a small scaled city. Few cars moved towards the train, stopping when railroad signs told them to.

I stare at it for a long time. Watching as each piece moves at right time in the right way. The train reminds me of the day Will was coming to pick me from a concert. Dice was with mother in hospital at the time so it didn't bother me that they missed.

They were coming over the tracks unknowing that the lights were not working right. They didn't know the train barreling down the tracks. By the time they did, the train had already passed. Killing everyone in the car.

I found about the incident a couple hours later on the news. Dice told me when I got home that I would not be aloud to attend any more concerts or sing. He said it would remind him too much of his son.

I didn't argue, Will always enjoyed my singing. So singing would remind me of him as well. I've never sung since that day. I get flashback and dreams of how it all happened, even if my scenario was different from what actually happened.

I pull away from the train set and distract myself with other things. Little figurines of soldiers, animals, creatures of different times and eras. None of these things intrigues me as much as the glass dragons hanging on hooks in the windows. One that caught my eye is the chinese dragon. It's wings and horns a golden color and the rest is clear.

I turn to make Yang isn't paying attention and I make a quick decision.

We leave the store minutes later. Yan doesn't suspect a thing. I tell myself that it isn't lying if it's supposed to be a surprise.

The bookstore isn't far from the toy shop. Yang opens the door for me again and I thank her again.

No one greets us when the door chimes. A strong scent of books old and new wash over me. This is a smell I never get used. It's one of the most wonderful smells I've enjoyed besides food. Books always make me feel at home.

"Maggie is the owner here. She's a mute, so we aren't getting a warm welcome any time soon." Yang tells me.

A grunt scares us. Yang jumps behind me, using me as some sort of shield. An elderly woman a long dress and slippers stand in front of us. She the opposite of Gus. Short and hunched over, dark skinned and much older looking than Gus as well.

"H-hey Maggie." The blondes voice trembles. "This is Weiss."

The elderly woman's glare doesn't soften nor does she show interest in me. Maggie simply looks me up and down then walks away. Going back to whatever hut she came out of.

"Well, she's… charming to say the least."

"You don't know the half of it. Maggie despises me because I accidentally lit a firecracker in her bookstore one time."

"Lovely," I say with some sarcasm.

"Someone sassy this morning!" Yang giggles as she starts walking through the aisles.

"I am not sassy this morning." I protest.

Yang plucks a book from shelves. "Yeah and I'm not a natural blonde."

"Natural blonde," I grumble under my breath. "I'll show you ' _natural blonde_ '."

I'm starting to think that I did need that coffee after all.

Yang slips the book back on the shelf and pulls out another one. She flips through the book, not showing much interest, and sets it back down. She moves on to the next one and does the same thing.

"So you have a favorite genre or do you just pick up a book and read it for the heck of it?" Yang sets that book down and moves on to the next.

I walk up next to her. As I do, several books catch my eye, but I don't stop. The one I want is in Yang's hands.

She quickly flips through it and is ready to set it back down. I pluck it from her hand and read the back of the cover. It's an adventure novel.

These kinds of books are sort of my guilty pleasure when it comes to reading. I'll spend hours immersed in a book, in a dream, on another planet, on a pirate ship, or flying with a dragon through the sky. Or these things at once and I won't even have to leave my room to do it.

"Adventure." Yang leans over my shoulder as I read the first few pages. She then shakes her head. "Sometimes I think you and Ruby should be together more than you and- _oof_!"

I elbow her in the stomach and immediately apologize for hitting her too hard. Then I proceed to lecture her about who I choose to date and love, snuggle up to, laugh with, eat with, and have fun with.

"You mean a lot to me, Yang. Don't let those voices in your head tell you otherwise. Got it?"

She silence for a second, letting the smile grow on her face. "Yeah, I got it." she's soft with her words.

I turn back to the book, flipping the page to continue reading. Nearly sinking into the story, only if Yang hadn't spoken than I would have been fully immersed in the book.

"Hey… Um, Weiss? I need to tell you something?" Yang is sympathetic when she speaks. "I have a boxing match on the day of your charity and…" She sighs. "I tried to talk to my coach out of going, but he needs me there. The good news is that it's in Atlas so I might be able to come over right after I finish the match."

I think for a moment. "This isn't the surprise is it?"

"What? No! No, I just wanted to tell you that I'll be late." She says.

A small smile creeps up on my lips. "You're always late," I say wryly.

She whips around and pulls. "Better late than never." She leans in to give me a kiss.

A low groan interrupts us. Maggie is standing at the end of the hall watching us. We quickly pull away from each other. I cover my embarrassed face with the book and Yang whistles, looking around like a clueless person. Out of the edge of the book, I see the elderly woman's lips twitch into a smile. She disappears once again, leaving Yang and me to our own devices.

Yang waits until she knows Maggie won't show up any time soon and rushes over to plant a kiss on my temple. She quickly plucks the book out of my hands and disappears around the shelf. I don't give in, Yang would outrun me anyway.

She returns a few minutes later with no book. I grumble knowing that she's playing some sort of trick on me.

"Okay, where is it?" I ask, crossing my arms.

Yang shrugs. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"My book!" I cry out, throwing my hands.

"Oh." She draws out the word out. "I hid it for safekeeping. Guess we'll have to come back later for it."

Yang walked out of the store, the bell chiming as she left. I stand madly fuming like a five-year-old.

"You better go after her!" A raspy voice calls out. It's Maggie. "She wanders a lot." The elderly woman says at the end of the aisle, a smile on her face.

I'm dumbstruck for a moment before realizing what I should be doing. The bells chimes again as I walk quickly after Yang.

* * *

 **The second part will closer to two or three in the afternoon when all of the shops are open. This next part is something I've been waiting a long time to write so if it takes a bit longer to get out. It's because I want the scenes to be perfect. Leave some criticism for me, because I know you guys can spot stuff like that. Hope you guys enjoyed. Like, comment, subscribe and I'll see y'all later! BYE!**


	17. Chapter 17

**I had a lot of fun writing this chapter, it really pushes the plot forward. I didn't think that this chapter would turn out the way it did, but I'm super proud of how it came out. I simply love it. Enjoy the chapter and I'll see you guys at the bottom**.

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It's nearly one when we decide to stop by and get a bite to eat. It's a local old fashion diner with the checkered floor, red seats, and silver everywhere.

Several people are eating and chatting. Metal against metal as cooks flip burgers and fry chicken. It all smelled so delicious.

Yang guides me to a table, sits me down and disappears. A man stops by and drops off two menus.

I pull it open and am greeted with several pictures of fried chicken, burgers, fish, combos, appetizers, drinks -alcoholic and non-alcoholic- salads, and sides. My stomach growls in protest for food now.

The _whomp_ of someone sitting down takes my eyes off of the menu. A young man with grey spiked hair and a cocky grin his face told me who it is. Mercury Black. The son of Black iron industries. A revolting kid with a fat ego and an even fatter mouth. Ugh! Why me and why today?

"Hello, Weiss," Mercury says, his smirk growing into the smile that I despise.

I roll my eyes and pull the menu up to hide my face. "Mercury."

He pulls the menu down, slapping it against the table. He doesn't remove his hand which forces me to have to listen to what he has to say.

"What do you want, Mercury." I'm bothered by the fact that he's here and annoyed that his sitting in front of me.

His smile fades and the air grows more serious. The sounds of chatter fade as if it were only him and I. It's unnerving at first then he starts to speak.

"I'm here to warn you." He's quiet. "Your sister sent me after Qrow called."

A new emotion comes into play. Uneasiness burns my core as he continues to speak, informing me about what Winter has been doing since I've been gone.

"You need to be careful of who you talk to and trust." He says. "These people who are threatening you are the same people who got your brother killed. They are willing to do anything gain control."

I'm baffled and horrified. _The same people who killed Will? That means the train wreck wasn't an accident at all. It was murder._ I feel sick as Mercury pushes on.

"Winter also said she doesn't want Yang to know about this."

 _Yang? Why does Winter not want Yang involved in this? These people could just as easily come after just like they are coming after me. Unless…_

"Why not?"

Mercury's jaw clutches keeping himself from saying something that he might regret. "She's too close as it is," he says after a minute. "She's… too close to all of this, Weiss. That's all I'm able to tell you."

 _Too close as is it? What does that mean? Yang hardly knows what's going on. I hardly know whats going on!_

"Please, Weiss. Listen to your sister. Some people will be coming to get you any minute now, they're going to take you to a safer place and explain everything to you." He gets up to leave. But just before he does, Mercury warns me about something. "The people who are coming to get you will be friendly at first, but if you deny going then they will take you by force." Those are his last words before he gets up and leaves.

I'm left confused and terrified. As if this dark mass swept over my mind. The paranoid feeling of someone watching me from afar nearly makes me want to get up and find Yang. Luckily she comes to me.

I try to settle the overwhelming emotions inside me as best I can so Yang won't notice. They're still there no matter how hard I try though.

"So have you looked at the menu at all?" Yang picks up her own menu. "I've always eaten the burgers here, but Ruby has told me that they have some really good chicken and fish here."

I'm too wrapped up in my own thoughts, trying to make sense of everything that is going down. Nothing is connecting. Nothing is adding up and it's leaving me a frustrated mess. I wanted to just get up, find Mercury and… Force him to tell me?

The more appropriate question is what could I do? Nothing? I can't just do nothing and let someone else figure out what this world has come to?

 _Weiss!?_ I ripped from my thoughts as Yang basically shouts my name. She's worried about me. "Are you okay?"

 _Am I okay? I don't know what Okay means at this point. Gods, I need to tell her. I have to._

I pull my gaze away from Yang. "Yang, I… I… need to tell you something. It might change your perspective on someone, but I need-"

My mouth snaps shut when I see two bulky men make theirs to our table. My heart is pounding in my ears as I try to tell Yang what's going on.

"Yang, there something I need to tell you about your uncle- mph!" A hand clamped down on my mouth and I'm ripped from the table.

Yang springs in action but the two men from behind grab her. The few people are startled and in restaurant pull their cellphones to take pictures, videos, and to call 911.

"The hell! Get off of me!" Yang growls, trying to pull herself away. "I'll kick your asses!"

I'm dragged out of the restaurant and taken to a black car, Yang's captors follow is a slower manner. Yang's able to elbow one man in the nose, breaking it easily. The man howls in pain and clutches his bloody nose.

The car door swings open and I'm thrown in. Fear overtakes my body as I try to escape through the opposite side, but it's locked. The men finally get Yang in the car. She's lying on the floor toppled over in pain.

"Yang!" I come up next to her, wrapping my arm around her shoulder.

Yang pries herself from the floor, her arm clutching her gut. "Hey, princess. They didn't hurt you did they?"

I shake my head. "No." I hadn't realized the tears in my eyes as fear and terror rakes through my body. "Gods, I'm so sorry. I didn't think any of this would happen."

Yang grabs my arm. "It's okay, Weiss. I chose to be with you and I'll deal with the consequences that follow."

The car jerks forward. I hold Yang close to me with one hand and use the other to keep our balance. Yang is able to recover quickly and sits in her seat, I take the one next to her. I keep one of her hands in my lap as comfort.

I notice the driver looking back at us every once in a while through the rearview mirror. Yang catches the glances as well.

"Hey," Yang growls. "Where are you taking?"

The driver says nothing, keeping his eyes on the road. There is nothing Yang can do to force the man to tell us where we are being taken, the glass is protecting him.

"I don't think he can hear you, Yang," I say. "Even if he did, I don't think he'll answer you."

Yang sighs and slouches in her seat. "Of all the days?" She grumbles. "Why couldn't it have been tomorrow."

The driver takes several turns off the road onto a dirt one. He takes us deeper and deeper into the woods. I squeeze Yang's hand until I can't squeeze anymore.

The car comes to a stop at an old warehouse. Guards in white walked around the building. One came and gets us out.

"Someone would like to have a word with you." He's stern.

Yang is ready to make a snarky comment but I stop her with the shake of my head. She doesn't say a word after that.

The man takes us through the warehouse. People upon people, working at several machines, looking at blueprints or talking through their next project are piled up on one floor. The buzz of tools being used echoes through the room.

He opens a door that leads down a long White hall with several doors on each side of it. He takes us to the end and opens the door to see several people on computers typing away, each looking at something different.

"Daniel! Bring them over here." One man calls out. "James will here any minutes."

 _James? He certainly doesn't mean James Ironwood._

We are moved to a small room in the back with a table surrounded by chairs. The walls and floor are bleached white. It almost feels like we are about to be interrogated.

"Stay in here. James will speak with the two of you soon." The man leaves us.

Yang checks the door after a minute or two, It doesn't budge.

She grumbles. "It's locked from the outside."

I take a seat, Yang joins me. We sit in silence for what felt like hours until the door opens and an older man steps along with a woman with white hair and another man with red eyes. I know all three of these, one of them being my sister and the other being Yang's uncle.

We both stand up watching them all come through the door.

"Hello, Weiss." The older man speaks. His black hair that's fading into a grey color tells me that it is him. "It's nice to see you again."

It takes me a minute to come up to the man who saved my life a long time ago. I build up the courage to hug him.

"Hello, uncle James."

He chuckles and wraps his arms around me. I give Winter a hug as well.

"It's good to see that you haven't done anything stupid." She whispers in my ear.

Unlike hugging her uncle, Yang glares at Qrow from afar, everyone can feel her gaze.

Qrow sighs. "Hurry up and explain to them what is going on, Jimmy."

Yang's eyes narrow. "No, how about you explain."

Qrow grumbles. "Look, Yang. I don't have time to explain everything to you. It's already dangerous enough as it is with us telling you what's going on."

"Oh, just like you don't have time to be apart of this family?" Yang's words are harsh.

Qrow keeps his composure though. "I'm doing this to protect you."

"To protect me?" She stands up, now eye to eye with her uncle. "That's a shitty lie and you know it."

I wince at the curse word. I've told Yang that I don't like the foul words she uses, the bigger ones at least. To make things worse, Winter is here, watching the wrong side of my girlfriend, feeding her the wrong opinion. I need to stop this now.

"He's not… he's not lying, Yang." I say. Gods, I wish I wasn't such a baby sometimes.

My words bring Yang's piercing gaze to me. I swallow and explain to her what Qrow said to me the other night. This seems to calm her a bit.

"So that's what you've been trying to tell me." She mumbles. "So why didn't _you_ tell me?"

She directing the question at Qrow.

He looks away in shame. "It has something to do with your mother, Yang." Yang's jaw clenches, but she stays silent. Qrow swallows and pushes on. "Your mother and I used to be part of a gang, The Branwen Tribe. It was during the time of a case that Ironwood needed us go undercover for him. Raven didn't know she was going to fall in love with a certain someone."

"Dad." Yang quickly says.

She becomes perplexed when Qrow shakes his head. "Summer was the police officer who escorted us around Beacon. Getting us into clubs and out of trouble." Qrow muses as the memory.

"So… she fell in love with Summer first."

"Then your pops came into the picture. The three loved each other so much. So when Summer got a job offer as chief of police in Patch, it broke Raven's and Tai's heart to see her go. They still kept in touch every now and then. Then when Raven got pregnant with you, she decided to leave the Branwen Tribe so you could have a wonderful life, but… with the way our gang works… walking out isn't an option." Qrow's expression turns dark. "She had to do something to protect you, so she… she faked… "

"What your uncle is trying to say is that your mother faked her death and is alive," Ironwood interjects. "She could be helping the White Fang assassinate the rich and wealthy for power."

The air freezes. I watch as Yang's entire world shatters into millions upon millions of pieces hearing the words. Not only has she found out that her mother is _alive,_ but could be hunting me down as we speak.

Tears well up in her eyes hearing the information. I go to comfort her, but Winter grabs my arm, stopping me. I look at her with pleading eyes, Winter shakes her head, telling me no.

Qrow sighs again. "I'm sorry, Kiddo. I didn't know how-"

Yang moves like lightning, her fist connecting with Qrow's jaw. Blood gushes from his lip as he stumbles back.

"You knew! You knew this time!" She roars. "For twenty-three-Fucking-years! Twenty-three years, I thought she was dead! And some reason, she comes back from the dead just to try and kill my girlfriend and her whole family! AND YOU KNEW THIS WHOLE TIME!"

The sob in her throat breaking through. Yang pours out her soul and she falls to her knees.

"You knew… this whole time." She whispers so softly that I have to strain my ears to hear her.

I try to comfort my blonde girlfriend, but Winter stops me again.

"I don't want you near her, Weiss." Winter whispers so only I can hear. "With what's has happened in the last couple minutes, it's not wise to approach someone with unstable emotions."

Her words make my blood boil. "She's not some science experiment, Winter. She's my girlfriend and I'm all she has right now."

I wrench my arm out of her grip and head to Yang. Letting myself fall to my knees, I hold Yang close to my chest. She doesn't push away or objects the hug. She sobs loudly into my shoulder.

"It's okay. Let it all out, Yang. Let it all flow out of you." I'm soft on my words.

"But it's not…" She cries. "None of this is okay." Her finger grip my shirt tightly as she sobs even louder this time.

The only thing I can do is stroke her back and head in comfort. The three wait for me to calm Yang down enough for Ironwood to finish explaining. I smooth her into soft hiccups and whimpers. It satisfies Ironwood enough to let him speak.

"I understand that this a lot of information to take in. Winter and Qrow are going to be keeping an eye on the two of you when the break is over. Weiss, you'll be heading back to Atlas this Saturday with your sister. Yang, you'll stay in Patch until school starts again. The three of you will be staying in a penthouse not far from Beacon university."

I look at him with bewilderment. "The three of us? Why will we be staying there?

"It is to keep a close eye on you, Yang, and her sister." Ironwood clears his throat when Yang snaps her head to him when he mentions her sister.

"Does she know about this too?" Yang grimly askes.

Ironwood shakes his heads. "Not yet. We are taking precious about who we tell, although it could put your sister in less danger if we do tell her."

We're silent letting the information sink into our brains. Yang finally gets her feet, I stand with her. She has this stern look on her face.

"If we're going to abide by your conditions then I have a few conditions of my own." She's demanding.

Winter doesn't seem too pleased with the way Yang is acting. "You can't possibly-"

"Winter, please. If they are willing to cooperate then I will listen to what she has to say." Ironwood interjects. He then nods to Yang, allowing her to speak.

"One, I would like my privacy -Surely I'm not speaking for myself for that matter- I don't want some guy following me around watching my every move. Two, no keeping us in the dark. If something pops up, we should be able to know what's happening around us." Winter isn't keen the idea sharing information. "Three, I don't want to be cut off from my friends. If I'm staying out late then I'll text one your guys, telling them what I'm doing. Four,... I would like Chinese every other week on a Friday night."

Ironwood looks back at Qrow and Winter. Either of them agrees nor do they disagree on Yang's demands.

Ironwood turns to back to us. "We will meet your deman-"

"One other thing!" Yang cuts in. "I have a kitten and I would like to take her with me back to Beacon."

Ironwood raises a brow. "Are you asking that we take care of her?"

Yang shakes her head. "No, I'm asking if it's okay for me to bring her to the penthouse or not."

Ironwood smiles. "Of course your kitten is welcome to stay with you."

"Can you also provide some food for her as well?"

"Yes."

Yang is contempt with her rules and looks at me. "Is there anything else you would like to add?"

I shake my head. "No. As long as Yang and I are able to share a room together."

Winter's brows knit together, Yang smiles, and Ironwood chuckles. With the embarrassment building up inside, I feel like shrinking into nothing.

Winter turns to Yang. "What have you done to my sister?"

"Nothing I just… Wait a minute? Sister?" Yang points at me then back at Winter then back to me. "You definitely look like sisters, but I don't-."

"Can we go know!" I squeak, hoping that I can keep Yang from looking like an idiot any longer.

"Of course! One of my men will take you back to the diner." Ironwood.

I smile but realize what Mercury said to me. "Mercury told me your men were friendly, but they treated us like garbage," I tell him.

"That boy." Ironwood opens the door for us. "Then maybe I'll have a little talk with the people who mistreated you and Miss Xiao-long."

Ironwood escorts us to the car again where the quiet driver is waiting. Yang and I get in on better terms than last time and are taken back into town. We're dropped off in front of the diner, but I lost my appetite a long time ago, Yang has too.

"Now what?" I ask.

Yang takes my hand and leads me to the car. "I know a place we can go to that will fix this date. As long as you don't mind staying past your bedtime."

I groan. "I don't have a bedtime. You already know that, Yang."

Yang snickers. "Whatever you say pocket princess."

"And stop calling me that, you oaf!"

"Ooh, that's a new one."

I'm not surprised about how well Yang is taking the news of her mother being alive. I know she's hiding it. What actually surprises me is how well she's hiding the pain and anguish that bubbles and boils inside her.

I stop before getting in the car. "Hey, Yang?"

"Yeah?"

I'm hesitant to ask, but I know she's hurting. "It's… okay if you're not okay… I mean with everything that's happened today, you don't need to fake your feelings."

Yang's smile sinks into a sad one. "It's okay, Weiss. You make me happy and that's all I need right now."

I can tell she's holding her composure together for me. She cares too much for me to let herself go. As if I'll see her any differently if she does.

"Let's get going. It's going to take some time to get to this place."

Yang slips into the driver seat, I slip in next to her. She turns on the car and heavy metal rock music ballers from the speakers. Yang scrambles to turn off the radio. Mashing every button until the radio cuts off.

"Gods, Dad needs to get that fixed." Yang sounds breathless.

I snicker. It puts a real, genuine, smile on Yang faces.

She pulls out of the parking spot, but immediately stops, throws the car into park, dashing out and down the street. I watch as she speedily runs into the bookstore and comes out minutes later with a bag in her hand.

"Okay," Yang says as she plops down in her seat. She hands me the bag. "This is for you."

I find the entrance and pull out the book. It's the same one that I was looking at from earlier. Yang bought for me as a gift.

"You looked like you were enjoying yourself when reading the first couple pages. So, I bought it for you."

I smile at the present. _Now is the perfect time to Her the present I got her._ "Could you hold on for a minute, Yang. I forgot something in one of the stores."

Before Yang says anything, I hop out and am already walking quickly down the street. Gus must have seen me coming because he's already standing outside with a paper sack.

"Here you go, Miss Schnee! She's all ready for a new home." Gus exclaims handing me the bag.

I thank Gus and quickly walk back to the car. "And this is for you." I hand her the bag.

Her eyes widen as she takes the sack from my hand. "So can I open it now or…"

"Yes," I'm pretty sure I'm more excited about this than Yang is. "Open it now!"

She opens the bag and pulls the glass figurine dragon. Yang's taken back for a second or two, completely baffled by my gift. I watch a toothy grin split across her face.

"Woah!" She breathes. "This is probably the coolest I've ever gotten. Now you're making me look bad for buying a book."

"Oh, trust me! This book will keep me more entertained for a long time."

Yang slips the dragon back into the bag, hands the bag back to me, saying that we actually need to go before it gets too late. I set both of our gifts on the floor for safe keeping. Yang pulls the car out and we drive out of town.

With Yang driving, I'm able to let my mind wander about the information Ironwood had told us. _This is complete insanity! I'm being hunted down by a gang and my girlfriend's dead mother._

I look at Yang, knowing she isn't taking the news well. She has her own thoughts the situation. One thing is for sure though. I will not let Yang bottle herself up. I. Will. Not. Allow it.

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 **Okay, before you guys complain about Yang's mood swings and everything. I kind of pictured Yang being strong and trying to keep herself together mostly for Weiss' sake. The girl just cares too much about Weiss and wants to be strong for her. The talk about Yang's mother being alive will continue. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. Like comment, subscribe and I'll see you guys next time! BYE!**


	18. Chapter 18

**Hello everybody. long time no see, even though I saw you guys like three days ago. Hope y'all had an amazing week, I know I didn't! Anyway, hope you guys enjoy the chapter and I'll you at the bottom. If not, then... Bye. Oh, don't forget to leave some criticism. It would help a lot.**

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Yang's PoV

My hands gripped the wheel a bit too tight since getting in the car. I thought I had lost all feeling in my fingers, but can you blame me for acting like this? I just found out my mom is alive after being told my life she's dead and to add onto that, Qrow knew the whole time! The grip tightens when thinking about that lying son of a bitch.

 _And to think I would give him a second_ chance, I growl in my mind. _Like hell am I doing that now! He put my entire family in danger and doesn't say a word about it._

"If you gripping the wheel like that you're going to pop a vein," Weiss says.

My hands loosen up hearing her voice. Having Weiss really helps, ya know. She's always making sure I don't do something stupid, like an angel.

"Thanks and… sorry." I feel bad being in such a crappy mood around Weiss.

"For what? There's nothing with being bad especially after something like _that._ I would be upset too if someone just told me that my father is alive."

She's right, but that's only half of it. Her father isn't some gang leader trying to gain power by kidnapping a wealthy child. Her uncle didn't lie to her. My hands tighten again.

"Maybe I should drive."

I take a quick glance at her, shaking my head.

"What? Do you think I don't know how to drive?"

 _Yes._ "No. I totally think you can drive." I say with little too much sarcasm.

Weiss punches me in the arm. Her swing is bad so her hit isn't that effective which means there won't be any bruising.

"Rude." She grumbles.

Her pouty face always reminds me of Ruby's. It's one of the many reasons why I like my little princess so much.

"I _totally_ know how to drive." She sounds like she about to prove me wrong, but I got other plans.

"Okay. I'll pull over and you can drive." I slow the car down and pull off to the side.

Her face pales. "What? No!"

I unbuckle my seat belt. "Why not?"

She's hesitant to speak. _She's thinking of a good excuse to not drive. That's cute._

When the smirk crawls upon my lips, Weiss huffs in annoyance.

"Okay! So what if I don't know how to drive." She grumbles. "I've been towed around in a limo for my entire life, so it's not exactly my fault for not knowing how to drive."

I snicker, click my seat belt back in and get back onto the road.

We sit in silence for a couple of minutes. I drown myself in my thoughts while Weiss aimlessly stares out the window.

 _If you look to your left you'll see grass! And if you look to your right you'll see more grass!_ That's what I wanted to say. It could strike up a conversation, but I don't want to pop Weiss' thinking bubble. I'm lucky enough that she asked me a question.

"So, where are you taking me?"

I let my fingers drum against the steering wheel, think of what to say. "It's a surprise."

"You're not going to murder me, are you?"

She's teasing me, I know it. But it reminds me that Weiss is being hunted down by my mom and could actually get killed. I've heard that she looks so much like me and hearing Weiss say that I'm going to kill her, drags me down. Way down.

I'm so bummed that I don't answer. I guess my bummed attitude is contagious, cause Weiss goes silent again.

I inform Weiss about the snacks and bottles of water in the back of the car if she ever gets hungry, thirty minutes later. I tell her that the fruit snacks may not be as good as the fancy fresh fruit she gets every night. Weiss giggles at my joke as she grabs a little bag of the little kid's snack and munches on them.

We drive for at least another hour until the grassy plain turns into red rocky mounds. It's near night time when we stop. I quickly hop out of the car and help Weiss out. She thanks me like she always does. the trunk pops and I pull out a thick blanket and join Weiss' side.

"Are you ready for the most beautiful place in all of the lands, princess!"

Weiss snickers. "I am, great dragon. Please take me there."

I take her hand and we hike the great red rocks of… rockiness! I'm trying to make it sound adventurous okay. The sun has set and I have to use my phone flashlight to help us see where we're going.

We come up to a flat surface that I recognize all too well and lay out the blanket, making sure we are comfortable. I sit down and spread my legs out for a good stretch, not knowing that Weiss would take the space between them. Her actions cause me to blush a bit.

"So is this the surprise?" She asks, snuggling her body up against mine.

"In about five seconds the surprise will here." I mentally start to count in my head until I reach one and turn off my phone's flashlight.

Weiss lets out a gasp as the light goes out. The sky lights up with different shades of blue and purples like a swirl, a slew, of color. Stars of every color sparkling and twinkling happily as if they were fireflies.

"I used to come up here with my family whenever had the time to."Ruby and I were young." I explain. "Sometimes I come up here to clear my head."

I've hoped that coming up here would help me forget about today. To wash the distasteful and horrible thoughts of Weiss, an innocent little soul, being hunted down by the White Fang and my zombie mom. No such luck. The memory will always be in my mind, making my brain its home for the rest of my natural like.

A gust of wind rolls over the rocks, pushing past Weiss and I. The breeze sends a shiver down her spine. She clutches her flannel shirt, trying to keep herself warm.

"Here." I throw some of the blankets on us. Covering my exposed legs, keeping the warmth in.

"Thanks," Weiss whispers. I shrug, even though I know she can't see me.

We watch as the stars slowly pass us by. I simply wait for a shooting star to cross the sky or maybe have some coyotes howl into the night, telling us to scram.

"Yang?" Weiss' soft voice comes out of the blue.

"Hm?"

Weiss silently thinks to herself. "... what are we going to do?"

I understand what she's saying, but in all honesty, I don't want to think about it right now.

I lean into the small girl, breathing her scent. "I don't know."

"Well, what should we do?"

"I guess we just do what they tell us." It seems like the best option right now.

Weiss sighs. "But something has been bothering me."

"What's been bothering you?"

Weiss pulls away and turns around. "Well for one thing, _you_ keep bottling up your emotions." She pokes me in the chest repeatedly.

"I know that," I say pushing her hand off. " I'm just… I just trying to keep things together."

Weiss makes this face at me as if I am an idiot and I'm sure I am.

"Is that the best excuse you have!?" Weiss is baffled. "It's okay to scream and shout and yell and be mad at the world, Yang."

Weiss simply waits for me to say something; I wait until she turns away.

I sigh, realizing that I'm not going to win this and sigh in defeat. "No, it's not."

"And why do you say that?" she doesn't get it. She just doesn't get it!

"Because it doesn't _fix_ anything. Because being mad at the world isn't going to make the fact that my mom is _alive_ and is hunting you down as well as the white fang, Weiss." I snap.

Weiss shrinks away and my heart instantly wretches in hate for my shitty attitude.

"I'm… I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you like that." It's a weak apology.

Weiss doesn't reply, she only mulls over my words. Swallowed into deep thought as is she didn't hear my apology, I know she did though.

 _She worries about me too much. I can handle myself… but I guess I can't be talking either. I basically have panic attacks if Weiss so much gets a papercut. I just… I just want our lives to be normal. But there is nothing normal about our lives now. My mom's a zombie bounty hunter and Weiss is the target._

Weiss breaks my train of thought when speaking up. "I don't get it though."

I raise a brow. "Don't get what?"

She looks me dead in the eye. "The white fang is a peaceful organization. I know that because my father used to fund them until my… _other_ stepfather went all crazy with power and decided to cut ties with them. Dice has fixed that since then, thankfully. But what I don't get is why they would band up with a gang. And the Branwen tribe, one of the most dangerous gangs in all of Remnant."

She does kind of make a point. Although I have heard of splinter groups in Vale who are not too happy with the way the White Fang is operating now. But why with a gang though? And a violent one at that.

"Besides, what would they do with me anyway?" Weiss thought out loud.

I shrug. "They could use you for ransom, ya know. Like a bargaining chip or something."

Weiss shakes her head. "No. I think something bigger is going on here and I need to figure it out."

I shake my head in disapproval. "I know you want answers, Weiss. But we need to be safe about what we do and what we say." I push a strand of loose white hair behind her ear. "This isn't a game and I don't need you getting hurt."

Weiss cups my hand close to her cheek, I peck her on the forehead. As I do so, a streak of light flashes across the night sky. Tonight ends better than I expected.

We pack up and head back to the car. I tell Summer that we are on our way but we won't get back until it's late, as in one in the morning late. She informs me that pizza in the fridge and the back door will be unlocked.

Weiss ends up falling asleep on the way back. It's hard for me not to look at the sleeping beauty, all wrapped up in her blanket, happily snoozing.

When pulling into the drive, no dogs come running up to greet us. Crescent and Ember are already asleep on the porch. Happily dreaming of floating dog treats or whatever they dream about.

I carefully slip Weiss out of the car, codling her in my arms, close to my body. She mumbles and buries herself in my shoulder.

The struggle to get through the back gate, up the porch steps, and through the back door, without trying to wake my girlfriend, is impossible, but I'm able to do it. I slowly tiptoe up the stairs and push open the door. Ruby is sleeping soundly. I thank the gods for that.

After tucking Weiss in, I have enough energy to change into some black shorts. I crawl into bed next Weiss, pull off her glass and unbraid her hair.

The silky feeling of her beautiful ivory hair makes me a tad bit jealous of it, but then again Weiss is my girlfriend. Which means I can feel her hair whenever I want.

Pulling Weiss close and keeping her close, I fall asleep with her tucked under my chin.

I wake up to see Weiss missing from the bed. Waking up with your girlfriend missing isn't a good thing. Waking without a trace of her showing up to your house ever is even worse.

I scramble out of bed in a panic, seeing if Weiss visiting was just a dream, a ruse. Oh, gods, I hope not. The thought of Weiss being gone puts me in full panicked girlfriend mode.

"Weiss?!" I call out.

When I get no reply, I rush downstairs to see if Summer or Dad have seen her at all.

"Mom! Dad! Have you seen-" neither of them are in the kitchen which means it's so late in the day that they are already at work.

I don't dare go down the hall to ask Qrow where Weiss has gone. There's no way I'm going to listen to his Tomfoolery anymore. All I can do now is head back upstairs and call her.

Back in the room, I notice Ruby is missing as well, but I can tell she got out of bed. There is nothing in my area that's Weiss'. Then I notice the bathroom light on and rush in, not even thinking twice about my actions.

"Wei-" my voice catches in my throat, heat floods my face.

I found Weiss, but not in the way I wanted to. She's standing in the middle of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around her hair and body. Neither of us says a word. My grip on the knobs tightens as I swallow the dry lump in my throat. I quickly shut the door and head downstairs to try and rethink my entire life.

Minutes pass when Weiss finally comes downstairs with a t-shirt and skinny jeans on, her converse clopping against the stairs as she does. I don't have the nerve to turn to her, but I build up the courage to speak. "Uh… hey." I'm unsure of what to say though.

"Hello…"

My fingers drum against my knees as the nerves build up. The image of Weiss being so close to being naked is stuck in my brain like a picture on a cork board.

"So, um… yeah… about the-"

"Don't." Weiss stops me there. "Can we pretend that never _ever_ happened."

It's not a question, even if it was I wouldn't disagree.

"Yeah… yeah."

Weiss sits down next to me with a _whamp._ A hiss of annoyance slips through her teeth. I obverse out of the corner of my eyes, watching as Weiss rubs her side, gently.

"You know I've figured out a way to lessen the pain," I say turning to her.

Weiss snaps her hand down, hoping that I didn't acknowledge it. "What are you talking about?"

I roll my eyes, smirking. "Oh, come on. I know your scar is bothering you."

Weiss' face flattens into a sad frown. It's been bothering her for longer then I imagined. Weiss could have been struggling with the searing pain since yesterday and I didn't know.

"Can I help you?" I whisper.

She nods. I take her hand and hold my scarred cheek, letting her feel the pink colored cut that starts from the jawline, crossing the cheek, and ending at the cheekbone.

"Try not to think about your own scars, your past." My words are soft. "Don't let them control you. Instead, let the pain go. It's going to hurt and it'll always be there. So don't try to carry your burden by yourself when there is someone nearby to help you hold them up. I'm here for you, Weiss."

"Then who is there for you?" She whispers.

"My sister, but I think she just got replaced by some cute little princess."

Neither of us has realized that we've drawn closer to each other. Our foreheads rest against each other. I can smell her minty breath from a fresh brushing.

 _I hope my breath doesn't smell bad. I hope_ I _don't smell bad in general._

"I love you so much. That's why I can't wrap my head around the thought of you getting hurt. That's why I'm being so..." _defensive? Strong? Careful?_ "So me, I guess. I've never met anyone quite as extraordinary as you, Weiss Schnee."

Weiss giggles. "And I've never met anyone quite as wholehearted as you, Yang Xiao-Long."

The flutter in my chest puts a smile on my face. _Wholehearted. I like the sound of that._

The heartwarming moment is ruined my stomach growls for food. Neither of ate dinner last night nor have we eaten breakfast.

"Someone's mighty hungry." Weiss giggles.

I put a hand on my stomach. A dumb and childish idea crosses my mind. "Yeah! Hungry princesses!" I lunge at Weiss, pushing her against the couch.

My fingers dance around her sides, tickling her. Weiss bursts into a cute fit of laughter. I tickle her so much that tears start to form out of the corners of her eyes, trickling down her cheeks.

"Ya… Yang! St… St… stop it!" She wheezes out. "I can't… I can't take much up… more of it!"

I stop before Weiss pees her pants and slowly plop down on top of her.

 _Oof!_ The sound is squeezed out of her lungs. I can feel every curve of my body pressed against every curve of hers. Her chest against mine as we look each other in the eye. Shimmering blue peering back at strong lilac. Our eyes shut as our lips lock together. The kiss sends me in a rush, like an overflowing river after a storm.

" _Mmph!"_ Weiss hums, her arms wrapping around my torso, trying to keep me close.

I'm running low on oxygen and pull away, gasping for air. Weiss sucks in a couple gulps as well.

 _Wow!_ Is what I wanted to say, but that isn't a good enough expression for the emotions I felt running through me.

"You're a really good kisser." I breathe.

"I guess it's because I've had a lot of practice."

I snicker. "Or it's you have a really good teacher."

Weiss taps her chin, think. "Hmm, No. I don't think so."

"Fine. Then I'll lay on top of yo-ahh!" I didn't realize out much strength Weiss had in those noodle arms of hers. I land with a thump on the cold wooden floor.

"Ow," I grumbled, rubbing my head.

Weiss sits up. "Hah! That's what you GEAHH!"

I grab her hand and pull her down, thinking that it was a good idea, but I thought wrong. Weiss crashes down on top of me. Now we're just a mess of body parts on the floor, all tangled up like cords in some nerdy science lab or whatever.

"Gotcha!" I cry out, snaking my arms around Weiss' torso, making sure she doesn't get away.

 _She's trapped like a snake wrapping up a mouse! Now Weiss will have to abide by my rules._

Weiss squirms and wiggle, but her acts are fruitless. I have her and I'm not letting go of her.

"What are you two doing?" A squeaky voice askes. "And why are you on the floor?"

I roll my head back to see Ruby stand upside down like bat hanging from the ceiling. "Sup' sis! Where have you been all morning?"

Ruby crosses her arms. "You know the rules, Yang. I asked first, you answer first."

"I shoved Yang off the couch. In return, She pulled me down with her." Weiss explains.

I nod in agreement. "So? Can you tell me where you've been all morning!"

Ruby taps her toe nervously. "I've been… I've been with Qrow all morning." She says in a low voice.

My smile flattens and my happy, cheery, mood as turned into a grim one. Ruby looks away as if she's ashamed of knowing everything.

 _She knows,_ I thought. _She knows about everything. The hunt, my mother, Qrow's lies._ My heart pounds against my chest. _Qrow is or_ was _a role model for Ruby. She thought that if Qrow could overcome alcoholism then she could overcome anything as well._ Regret and sorrow filled my heart, knowing that Ruby's life -or any of our lives- will be the same.

Weiss slips out of my arms and stands up. "So you… you know about everything."

Ruby rubs her arm in shame and nods. "Yes."

I stand up and pull her into the biggest and gentlest hug I can give. Ruby sniffles, letting her head fall on my shoulder.

"He lied, Yang. He lied to you, to me. He's lying to mom and dad." Ruby hiccups, trying her best to keep her emotions in check.

I stroke her hair. "I know, Ruby. I kn-"

The front squeaks open and closes with a click. Qrow had entered. It's like the devil himself hates this family. He's straight-faced and stance tells me that he wants no trouble from us. Qrow simply walks into the guest room and doesn't come back.

My stomach continues to groan for food, but I don't want to be here if… that monster is here. Ruby's still an emotional wreck, so eating out is the only option.

And I know just the place.

We pile into the car, this time the radio doesn't blare heavy metal rock music when I turn it on and drive down the ice cream shop.

"So, what did he tell you?" I ask, glaring at the road. "Ruby?"

"He… he told me everything. He about the White Fang, Weiss being hunted, us being moved to a penthouse near Beacon and…" Ruby's voice sinks into a mumble.

"And?"

"And… he told me about… Raven."

I can't tell you how I feel about Ruby knowing that my mom came back from the dead. On one hand, I'm glad she knows the truth, but on the other hand, it reminds me that Qrow hid such a big secret from this family for so long.

"Did he tell you anything else," I ask while pulling into a parking spot outside the shop.

Ruby shakes her head. "No, but he did give me an envelope. He said it's for you and only you."

I thought I snapped my neck when whipping around, wide-eyed. "What?"

"Yeah… he said there is something in there that you need to see." Ruby explains.

My stomach is begging for food now, clawing at my insides. But all I wanted now is answers and whatever is in that envelope could give them to me.

* * *

 **Short chapter and it may not satisfy some of you guys, but I've been binge watching Red vs Blue for the past couple of days and it's really funny. It's another Rooster teeth animation show that you guys should check out if you haven't heard of it. Hope you guys enjoyed. Like comment, subscribe and I'll you guys next time. BYE!**


	19. Chapter 19

**Hello! I got no introduction so enjoy the chapter and I'll see you guys next time or you know... at the bottom.**

* * *

"Yang, why did you take us to an ice cream parlor?" Weiss asks.

"One, because I like ice cream. Two, it'll cheer Rubbles up. Three, because ice cream for breakfast is amazing and four, they have milkshakes here that I know you'll like." I say, taking a seat at the bar.

A man by the name of Harrison comes by and asks what we would have. I order a strawberry sunrise milkshake and a cookie blizzard for Ruby. Weiss chooses a chocolate milkshake. Though I have told her that there are several other better ones, she still chose something simple.

Harrison disappears for a few minutes and comes back, sliding our ice cream perfectly in front of us.

Ruby immediately perked up. She doesn't wait for us and digs in, shoveling huge spoonfuls of cookie dough filled ice cream into her mouth.

I slurp up the thick ice cream mixed milkshake. It's fluffy, tasting like strawberries and vanilla, on my tongue. A hum of satisfaction ebbs from my throat.

Weiss takes things a little more slowly. I've found out that she gets brain freezes pretty easily. Weiss slowly sips on the straw with the look of thought on her face. I've also found that she spaces out a lot more times than I can count. There's nothing wrong with that though, I think Weiss looks absolutely adorable when she does.

Ruby groans once she's done stuffing herself with ice cream. "Ugh! I don't think I can eat another one."

"Good," I snicker. "Because I'm not buying you another one."

Harrison comes by and takes Ruby's glass away that has been licked clean by Ruby herself.

I check on Weiss to see how she's doing on her shake. She hasn't made it halfway, not even a third of a way through her milkshake. Weiss has been too lost in thought that the shake is melting faster than she's drinking it.

A simple tap on the shoulder surprises her, almost making chocolate milkshake squirt out of her nose. She swallows too fast and chokes a little.

I lean back. "Woah, Woah. Okay."

"Yang… what… what are you doing?" Weiss wheezes.

"Sorry. You looked liked you were sent to another dimension for the last three minutes." I explain.

"I'm…. I'm fine. And no I haven't been stuck in another dimension, Yang." She smiles, but it soon fades. " I've just been thinking about… all of this… whatever this is."

I raise a brow in questioning. "What do you mean? It's a milkshake, Weiss. There's nothing to question."

"It's not the milkshake, Yang." Weiss suddenly sounds serious.

Now I understand what she's talking about. This hunting stuff is really getting to her and I hate that. I hate that I can't do much about it.

 _Weiss shouldn't have to worry about the hunt. Yeah, she's in danger, but I know her sister will do anything to protect her. And I'm already super protective as it is._

"I don't like sitting here feeling like I'm being watched by both sides of the coin. I want my normal life and sitting here isn't solving anything." She says.

I sigh, shaking my head. "I know you hate sitting on the sidelines, Weiss. But that's what we have to do. If it means-"

Weiss grabs my arm and drags me out of my seat. "I know what can help."

"What? Weiss, we just got here." I nearly whine.

She whips me around. "I know that," Weiss says. "And while drinking that milkshake, I thought of something."

I wait for her to tell me what she thought of until I realize she's waiting for me to ask. "What did you think of?"

"Whatever is in that envelope that Qrow gave to Ruby to give you, might have the answers." She explains.

" _Might_ is the key word of that sentence," I say, crossing my arms.

"I know, but we have to at least try." Weiss is now pleading for me to help her.

 _This could give her some comfort for what she's been going through, what we've all been going through. I mean, if it helps calm Weiss' nerves than I'll give it a shot._

"Okay, then I guess-"

"Hey don't leave me!" Ruby cried rushing to my side. "Besides what are you guys talking about anyway. I hope you guys don't have some prank waiting for me at home."

I can tell Weiss is starting to get a bit annoyed. "No, Ruby. We're talking about what could be in the envelope."

Ruby's eyes widen. "Whatever's in there is for Yang." She's getting defensive.

"I know that, but there could be clues or answers to all of this," Weiss replies.

"If there were answers than Qrow would have told us." Ruby shoots back.

"Okay, this conversation is ending now." I cut them off there so there won't some big argument. "Besides whatever is in that envelope is mine and I get to choose what I want to do with it."

"But uncle Qrow said that it's only for you." Ruby is sounding worried now.

"Honestly, Ruby, I've lost my patience with that man and frankly I don't give a damn about he says now." My words are cold like ice.

Ruby gasps like it's some big surprise that I hate Qrow for lying to us. For keeping Dad and Summer in the dark. For letting them think that my mom is dead. Man, just thinking about it makes me pissed.

Ruby's brows crease, her worried look fades into an angered frown. "Then you don't care about what mom said to you."

"Ruby that's not…"

"Mom said for you to give him a second chance and-"

"I did! And look what happened, Ruby!" I yell. "He has lied and has kept secrets from us long enough!"

"And what about your mom!?" She roars. "Are you going forgive her after she left you?!"

My hands ball up into fists and my teeth grit. "She left for a reason."

"And he lied for a reason!"

I clench my jaw. Ruby has a point, a good point… and I hate it. What makes me madder is that she's defending the one person that started this whole mess and doesn't seem to care that Qrow lied to us.

I'm ready to fire back but I stop myself when mumbles and murmuring reach my ears. Customers are watching us yell and argue like five-year-olds.

"We'll talk about this later," I say in a low tone.

"Fine."

Ruby pushes passed me and Weiss. My anger dwindles knowing that Weiss has been listened to me yelling at my sister.

"Let's go…" I walk past Weiss, following Ruby outside.

We drive back in a steaming silence, my hands gripping the steering wheel tightly again. Ruby's eyes are burning the back of my skull. I think if she stares any harder I might get a bald spot.

Ruby slams the car door after I park and turn off the car. She stomps to the house with angered steam floating over her head.

"Easy on the car!" I yell out, getting out of the car.

She doesn't acknowledge my yelling. Ruby simply stomps up the stairs and heads inside, slamming the front door as well.

I sigh. "I don't know what I'm going to do."

"This is my fault," Weiss spoke softly.

I turn to her. Weiss has a glump look on her face, shoulders slumped, her hand rubbing her arm in shame. "I shouldn't be using you for my own personal gain. I shouldn't have brought up the envelope in the first place."

"What." I'm confused. "No, Weiss. You're not using me. I'm just… trying to help calm your nerves about the situation."

"But you and… and Ruby?"

I wave her off this time. "I'll talk to her."

If there is one thing that I always regret, it's yelling at Ruby. I understand what she's saying, but can she forgive Qrow so quickly? As if there wasn't a second thought running her head, Ruby defended Qrow. The blame is not on her though. It's on Qrow. She cares too much about him to understand what's happening.

Weiss, unnoticeably, slipped her hand into mine and gave it a good squeeze. "Maybe… maybe I should talk to her." Weiss said.

 _It's could the better option for Weiss to talk to Ruby. She'll listen to her idol better than listening to me belittling Qrow. But Ruby might be just as angry with Weiss as she is with me. It also doesn't seem right for Weiss to fix what I've screwed up._

"No, this is my fault, I should be able to fix it, Weiss," I say. Though the feeling is divided, I still think it's the better choice for me to talk to Ruby.

Weiss pulls me to the house, Crescent nor Ember greet us when walking past them as if they

Upon entering, Ruby comes stomping up to me, shoving a small, orange colored, envelope in my chest.

"Here! Now do whatever the heck you want with it." Ruby growls before stomping upstairs.

"Ruby, wait!" I command. When she doesn't stop I go after her. Weiss takes the envelope when I hand it to her.

Ruby picks up her speed, trying to make it her little safe haven before I get to her. She tried to shut the bedroom door quickly, but I easily threw it open.

Ruby takes a step or two away from me, still wearing a scowl on her face. "What do _you_ want."

"I want to talk with you," I say.

"No! All you want to do is believe that Qrow is a bad person for hiding something like this from us." Ruby snaps. "All you care about is being right, Yang."

My teeth grit. The annoyance and anger of Ruby ignorants are starting to push my buttons. "Believe whatever the hell you want, Ruby. Qrow didn't have to tell you that your mother was alive after thinking that she was dead for so long."

"Oh, and are you going to easily forgive Raven after leaving you?! Leaving mom, dad, Qrow!" Ruby is yelling now. "Yes, I'm mad Qrow lied to us, but there has to be a reason-"

"NO THERE DOESN'T!" I scream. Ruby's angered expression flattens into a baffled look. "Sometimes bad things just happen, Ruby. And this is one of them."

I hadn't realized how tensed up I've gotten over this stupid argument, how angered I've become. Yes, I'm mad. I'm mad that Ruby doesn't understand the point that I'm trying to make. It's infuriating that she can go back to protecting someone so easily. Someone who lied to this entire family.

"You've forgotten that she was going to be my mom too." Ruby mumbles.

The rooms goes still with silence. All the anger I've felt slowly slips away and my body is able to relax. Ruby is right, I have forgotten. We both would have had two moms and a dad, but things didn't work out that way.

Ruby walks passed me, our arms graze each other. The feeling lingers as Ruby disappears down the stairs and is replaced with Weiss.

"Yang?" She's timid. "Are you okay?"

My fingers brush through my hair as I think. "No… I'm not okay." My shoulders slump and I cup my face in defeat. "I don't know what to do."

Weiss doesn't seem to know what do either. The sorrowful silence comes back to fill the room with… sorrow I suppose. None of this fair; not of it! I try to help Weiss out and in return, I hurt Ruby. None was supposed to happen. I was supposed to come here and fix things. Instead, I was blinded anger and I misunderstood Ruby because of it. I let my hands fall to my sides, too tired to fight any emotion right now.

"I… this… this is yours." Weiss slips the envelope into my hands and leaves. Shutting the door behind her to let me mull in sadness and anguish because of what I've done.

My gaze falls the envelope in my hand, fingers searching for something inside. A thin square sits at the bottom. A hard drive.

I immediately tear open the envelope and reach inside, pulling the little box of secrets. It's white with my initials on it. _It's for you and you only_.

"Ruby must have known something that I didn't," I tell myself.

I sit at my desk and open up my sticker-covered laptop. A picture of my family pops up as well as my username and password. Fingers fly across the keyboard as I type in the password. Once in, several browsers and files load in on my screen.

I glare at the hard drive sitting in my hand. So many things could on here, so answers. Or more questions. There is only one way to find out. The hard drive slips into the USB port like a glove. A file loads in.

 **For Yang,** Labels the file. I swallow hard as my heart begins to pound against my chest. All of the thoughts about my mom comes to the surface as the world around me becomes a blacked out mess. The only thing sitting in front of me now is the computer.

I close my eyes and take several slow and deep breaths, trying to pull myself out of the swirling mess my mind has created. When I open my eyes everything is back to normal.

Giddiness fills up inside me as the mouse glides over the file. It opens with one click. Tons of videos load in, each one has the same woman with black curly hair. All of them are labeled by days and by month, so I start with the first one.

The video loads in and automatically start playing. The first thing I see is the black haired woman smiling at the camera. I immediately feel the connection between the two of us through her smile. It's Raven. It's my mom.

She shows the camera a pregnancy test. "Tai isn't aware of it. I can't wait to see the look on his face."

Raven enters a hall leading the master bedroom. As she walks, Raven talks about what their baby would like. "He'll have black hair like me and blue eyes like Tai or she'll have the blondest hair and the reddest eyes."

Raven goes silent as she opens the door to their room. Drool drips from a younger Tai's mouth onto the pillow he's hugging as he sleeps soundly, unknowing of the shock he's about to encounter. Raven sets the camera on the dresser and taps Tai's shoulder, whispering to him to get up.

Tai groans. "Five more minutes."

Raven sits next to dad, snickering. "Oh, come on. You need to come greet the baby."

Tai pops up in complete surprise. "What? What baby?"

Raven hands Tai the pregnancy test. He's completely dumbstruck as he reads it. Tai shoots up, scooping Raven into his arms and twirls her around, shouting for joy. Raven laughs as he does.

The video ends, leaving a warm happy feeling in my heart. _They look so happy together._ I thought.

Several more videos are like this for the next couple of months. _They must have been documenting the pregnancy._ Scrolling all the way down to the bottom, the videos suddenly cut off for a couple of weeks. I continue to scroll down until there is a lonely video sitting at the bottom. I hesitate to click on it, but temptation takes over and the video starts to play.

Raven is sitting in a lonely room, everything in boxes, her belly no longer carrying a baby. Tears running down her face as she tries to find the courage to speak through the weak sobs coming from her throat.

Raven finally wipes the snot and tears away with the sleeve of her shirt and looks dead into the camera.

"Hello, Yang."

I gasp. The little ball of emotions becomes hard to hold down upon hearing Raven say my name out loud for the first time.

Raven sighs and pushes the loose strands of black hair out of her face. "If you're watching this, it means I'm long gone by now. It also means that your not a kid anymore and Qrow decided to finally get off his drunk ass and do something with his life."

"Mom…" I whisper. The tears are already rolling down my cheek and getting caught in the corners of my mouth. I can taste the salt from the water.

"I just want to say…" She sighs deeply again. "I just want to say that I love you, Yang. And that I'm sorry I left you. Please don't think wrong of me, but I had to do it to protect you."

"I know, Mom…" I answer. all though I know I'm speaking to myself, answering out loud made me feel like she was here, speaking to me in person.

"I asked Qrow to keep my Whereabouts from you until he felt like you were ready. I hope he drinks himself to death before telling you, Yang. The Branwen tribe is too dangerous for you, Yang, and I will not allow you getting hurt or killed by my gang's people."

"I just wish I had more time with..." Raven sighs and shakes her head. "I have to go, little dragon." Raven gets up from her seats and reaches for the camera. "I love you, Yang… goodbye." The video goes black.

I'm left to mourn by myself over the woman that gave me life, who left me protect me. The sorrowful look is reflected on the blackened monitor.

My fingers graze over the screen where Raven's face used to be. "I love you too… mom."

It could have been minutes to an hour of me sitting in silence, thinking of everything Raven has said. Suddenly a knock on the door causes me to immediately shut my laptop and wipe away the tears.

"Yang?" It's Ruby. "Yang, I need to…" She swings the door open and the first thing her eyes are drawn to are my red puffy ones.

"Hey… Ruby." I mumble, turning away from her.

She and I slip into a less than subtle silence. Nothing needs to be subtle about it though.

"I came to tell you that… Qrow left. You got your wish."

My eyes widen in surprise. _What! I didn't wish for him to leave, did I? I didn't want that to happen. I just… I just wish I could… I wish everything could be normal for once._

Ruby's teeth grit when I say nothing. "Are you happy now? Because I'm sure as heck not!"

The tears start to reform at the corners of my eyes. I bite my tongue to try and hold back a screaming sob. I slowly get up from my chair and make my way over to Ruby.

The girl's hands are now balled up into fists. "SAY SOMETHING, GOSH DANG IT!" she cries.

Whether I say something or not, it won't fix this mess. Tears roll down Ruby's cheek in anger and she starts rapping her fists against my chest. It didn't hurt physically, but mentally, it was burning a hole in my chest.

"This… this is all your… fault!" She screams. "Why are you so… so…"

"Ruby, I… I'm sorry."

"Sorry doesn't cut it!"

"Please stop… It's not going to…"

"I don't care!" Ruby breaks down, resting her head against my chest. "I don't… I don't care." She whimpers.

I pull her in close. "I'm sorry, Ruby. I'm so, so sorry."

Ruby's now gripping my hoodie tightly, sobbing as loud as possible. No words can fix this. No words will bandage up a wound because, in the end, they're only words. Not actions.

"I… I…" I can't say anything to fix this.

The only thing I can do now is comfort my sister. Not a word, an action. It's better than rubbing salt on the wound. Ruby holds me tight as if she was going to lose me too.

 _Somehow I'll fix this. I'll fix this and makes things right, Ruby. I promise. Even if it kills me._

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 **Okay, short chapter I know. I usually improvise with the last part sometimes, but I didn't know how to end it and... here we are. So um, yeah... a lot of emotions and stuff blowing in peoples faces, but you know it's all fine. It's totally fine. Hope you guys enjoyed all I'll you guys next time. Like, comment, subscribe. BYE!**


	20. Chapter 20

**It's a bit longer than the last chapter and we're finally getting to the plot! AHHHH! It's going to a hot mess, guys. A really hot mess. Gosh, guys, I'm ready for this next set of chapters. It's going to the bomb! Enjoy the chapter and I'll see you guys at the bottom. If not, have a good day.**

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Summer and dad came home around eight tonight with pizza, all happy. But when I told them that Qrow left, they got worried, not just for Us and Weiss, but they were for worried for Qrow as well.

"What happened? Why did he leave so suddenly." Summer asks.

Ruby and I look at each other while Weiss sits in the background, head hung low. Ruby cocks her head to our parents, egging me on, to tell the truth.

"It's…"

"It's my fault." Weiss pipes up, cutting me off.

All heads turn to the short girl. Ruby and I are completely taken off guard. Weiss cups her elbows, wanting to shrink away from the attention.

"I… He was making me feel… uneasy whenever he was in a room with me. So I asked Yang to talk to him." Weiss explains in a low, quiet tone.

"Oh," Summer doesn't sound too happy. "And what exactly did you say to him, Yang?"

 _Great,_ I thought. _Now I have to think of a lie before Weiss and I are sleeping with the dogs tonight._

"Well?" Dad crosses his arms, voice firm.

"Uh… well you see I didn't think he would leave." I explain, rubbing my head while trying to calm my nerves. "I just told him… you know to maybe stay away, something along those lines."

Summer raises a brow. "To stay away?"

 _Wrong words_. "No, no no no no." I throw my hands up in defense. "I just told him to lay off of Weiss. Seeing that he was making her uncomfortable."

"So what you're saying is, Qrow made his own choice to leave," Tai says.

I nod. "Yeah,"

Tai and Summer look at each other, both trying to read the others mind. Summer mouths some words, Tai shrugs as an answer. Summer sighs and turns back to us.

"The three of you eat then go upstairs. Tai and I need to talk." Summer instructs.

When they disappear, I release a shaky breath then turn to Weiss. "What the heck, Weiss!" I whisper harshly.

Weiss winces. "I didn't think they would get mad you if it was my fault…"

"I don't care if I get in trouble! I care that you do though."

"None of this is your fault anyway." Ruby chimes in, giving me a glare.

"Well… your parents won't throw me out of this house, will they?"

"What? No! No, they won't, Weiss."

"Then I don't see the problem." She response freely.

I sigh and rub my temple. "The problem is that my parents are going to think your some spoiled little kid that gets what she wants," I explain.

Weiss' mouth makes an 'O' shape. "Oh… I never thought of that."

"It's Fine, Weiss. Mom and dad won't punish you for what Yang did." Ruby adds. She already getting a couple slices of pepperoni and cheesy goodness for herself. At least she's not glaring at me anymore. "And I don't think mom and dad will think of you that way, Weiss. Yang can be a worry wart sometimes."

 _Do you blame me? After all, this family has been through?_ That's what I wanted to say to Ruby, but I've already causes enough damage for one day for one person.

"I'm glad you care about my safety, Yang. But these are my choices and I can deal with the consequences." Weiss is implying that I _do_ worry a lot.

She's starting to sound like me and it kind of makes me more worried than before. As you can tell, I don't make the best choices even though people make mistakes all the time. I feel like my mistakes are bigger than others. I guess it's because of the way I've been raised.

Weiss rests a hand on my shoulder. "I'm sure things will straighten out on their own time. It may not be in the way we expect it, but I know it'll be for the better."

Her words put a subtle half smile on my face, although it's not really that subtle. "Can you tell these 'things' to straighten out faster."

Weiss' hand retreats to her side as she giggles. "That's not for me to decide, little sun dragon."

"Okay, pocket princess."

We get our greasy slices of pizza and eat in silence. One slice easily keeps Weiss from eating more while I make a new personal record for myself. Five was my last record, now it's six and a half. I felt pretty accomplished at the moment, not realizing that I'll regret it in three minutes.

Walking upstairs never felt so tiring after a big dinner, although I may have been a bit dramatic about it. Weiss lectured me about eating too much and I should probably watch what I eat as well if I want to stay in good shape.

"Hey, I eat salads regularly," I say, pretending to struggle up the stairs.

I can feel Weiss giving me an eye roll, walking past me as I lay on the steps, stretching out my arm as if I were going to die at any minute.

"Oh, get up you big oaf." Weiss jabs me with toe to the stomach.

It churns in response. I immediately shoot up thinking that my new personal record is about to come back up. My hand shoots up to cover my mouth as the pizza rises. Somehow I'm able to contain the greasy goo and swallow it again.

It's disgusting I know. But, hey! If I can take some serious hits in the ring then I can definitely hold down this pizza.

"I really think I need to lay down," I say, taking a bit of a woozy step forward.

Weiss takes my hand, when I start to lean forward, and throws it over her shoulder, guiding me up the stairs and keeping me from falling on my face.

"Thanks," I grumble in the kindest way possible, now resting a hand on my gut, hoping it would sooth the beast inside.

"I can't have my favorite snuggler get taken down by some overly greasy food, now can I?" Weiss giggles.

"You're such a dork," I reply once we get to the top.

"Yeah," She smiles wholesomely. "But I'm your dork."

I plant a quick kiss on the little snow angels temple before we separate.

It's nowhere near ten and either of us is tired, so Weiss and I just lounge around. I give her permission to look at all my sister's geeky things as she keeps her distance from me while I get ready to take a shower.

With clean clothes in tow and the door safely locked, I flip on the shower. After only waiting a few seconds for the water to heat up, I slip behind the curtain. The hot water slides down my body as I soak my hair. Everything is being washed away and it feels refreshing to be clean again. I reach one of the many hair care products and begin to wash. Shortly after fifteen minutes, I climb out of the shower, dry off and get dressed.

Only… there's a problem, a huge problem. Like, the bain of my existence, huge problem. I forgot to grab a clean bra before getting in the shower. _Ugh! It'll only the blonde girl with huge boobs who forgets her bra. Thanks, life! You're so helpful._

Then something crosses my mind. A thought. It may not be a good thought, but it's the only thought I got.

I slip on my clothes and peek outside. "Hey, Weiss? Can you grab… Weiss?" My eyes scan the room to find Weiss missing from it.

This might be my golden opportunity for me to grab a bra. I slip out of the bathroom and quickly rush to my closet. Throwing open the closet, I'm ready to grab what I need, but someone, or more specifically, something stops me. A yellow cased covered pillow slams into my face and I'm sent tumbling back.

"Haha! Success!" Weiss cheers.

 _Ugh, not now, Weiss. I need something!_ I clutch the pillow to my body to protect my less than protected chest.

Weiss throws another pillow, but this time I block the threat and throw one back at the little princess. Weiss takes a pillow straight to the face.

She falls back into the closet and I scramble to shut it. I block the only exit with my weight and grab my phone that, conveniently, isn't far away. I must have forgotten to take it out of my shorts pockets and it fell on the floor.

Weiss banged on my closet door. "Yang! Let me out!"

I struggle to pull up Ruby's number. "Uh… um… just a second, Weiss. I got to do something real quick!"

Finger fly across the keypad as I ask Ruby to search the dryer for a clean bra. The patients of waiting for her to respond is killing me.

"I'll give you three seconds to let me out!" She doesn't sound too happy.

"I… kinda can't right now, Weiss," I respond with hesitation.

"Well, why can't you?" She asks.

 _I can't tell her that I don't have a bra on. That would be awkward and weird… or just more awkward._ There has a good explanation to tell Weiss why she can't come out of the closet.

"It's kind of an emergency, Weiss," I explain. "I forgot to do something and it's embarrassing to say it out loud… and… well, it's just embarrassing period."

The banging stops as Weiss considers my explanation. "Oh…" she goes silent for a second. "Could… you at least turn the light?"

It takes me a minute to realize that I completely left Weiss in the dark. "Yeah… yeah, I can do that." My hand slides up the side of the frame until I hit the switch, turning it on.

"Better?"

"Better."

A ding from my phones tells me that Ruby has responded. Her response nearly makes me cheer for joy. When the door opens, Ruby quickly throws me a sports bra. I try to thank my little sis for helping, but she already shut the door and disappeared down the stairs.

A sports bra is not what I expected, but it'll have to do for tonight. I quickly take off the shirt, slip on the bra, and put the shirt back on.

"Okay," I say, getting up, still holding onto the pillow. "You can come out now!" I get ready to attack.

The door opens and I immediately throw the pillow, easily hitting Weiss in the face.

"Score one for the orange team!" I cheer, before fearing for my life.

Weiss now has two pillows now and is rushing in for an assault. _Uh oh._ I dash for Ruby's bed and grab the one pillow as a defense. One comes flying through the air and I easily knock it down. But there is no time to block Weiss' attack from the left. The pillow plows into my side knocking me onto Ruby's bed.

Fast actions mean fast reactions, so I throw my only pillow at Weiss, grab the blanket from Ruby's bed and quickly wrap Weiss from her shoulders all the way down to her toes.

"That's cheating!" Weiss cries out. "You can't use blankets in a pillow fight!"

I snicker. "All is fair in love and war, princess."

I scoop Weiss up with ease, toss her onto Ruby's bed and straddle her without putting my full weight on her. She instantly stops squirming when feeling my weight on top of her.

"Uh… you're not… you're not going to do anything… are you?" Weiss asks, her voice wavering every now and then.

"I'm not going to do anything that I don't do already." This puts Weiss at ease. "Unless you want…"

"NO!" She cried.

"Okay, okay. I won't." I lean in close. So close that our noses almost touch. "But I am going to ask you one thing."

"What… what are you going to ask?" She's nervous, anyone can tell you that.

I give her a small peck on the nose before answering. "So the vytal festival is next week and I was wondering if you would like to come with me and some friends?"

Weiss loosens up and a smile creeps up on her lips. "I would love to go with you and your friends."

I join in on Weiss' giggling and shower her with kisses. While Weiss is distracted by my affection, I slip off her glasses and put them on my face.

"Aha! It all was a ploy for me to see your beautiful face better!" Weiss manages to get her arms free reaches for her glasses, but I pull away. "Yo! Will these glasses make me smarter? Cause that would be awesome!"

"No. They just make you look more like a dork!" Weiss giggles.

Everything is a swirly, blurry mess, as I look around the room. "Man. You don't have very good eyesight."

"As long as I can see you, I don't care."

My brows rise in complete and utter shock as I turn my attention back to Weiss.

She faces away from me, her cheeks a hot fiery mess. _She has amazing pickup lines, cute as a bunny, and as hot as Vacuo itself. The gods must have finally shown me some mercy after years of pain._

"Damn, that was a good one, Schnee!" I exclaim. "Didn't know you had some really good pick up lines, Weiss."

"Huh?" She's perplexed about the situation. "What do you mean? I was just saying that I didn't care if I had bad vision. As long as you with me, I'm okay."

"I know," I whisper to her before leaning down and giving her another peck on the nose.

I finally get off of Weiss, allowing her to get out of the mess of blankets, and we straighten some things back out. As we do, I ask several questions.

I throw both of my pillows back onto my bed. "So this charity thing? Are you going to perform or anything."

Weiss shakes her head. "No, Dice doesn't want me to. I wouldn't want me too either."

I hum in response. _I've heard her sing before. Whenever Ruby plays music that's literally the first album that plays. Weiss is a beautiful singer and I bet her voice sounds a lot more beautiful in real life than through a speaker. The question is: why can't she sing anymore?_

I'm not going touch upon the subject right now for… reasons. It's most likely a family matter or it has something to do with Weiss' and Dice's past. Or both for that matter.

Weiss straightens out Ruby's blanket and puts the pillow back. "Do you know how many of your friends are going to the charity three weeks from now?"

"Sun, Blake, Ilia, Jaune, Pyrrha, Ruby and I are going. Neptune has work and Ren isn't going to let Nora go to some fancy party. He already knows how that will turn out." I snicker at the thought of Nora getting drunk and accidentally making a complete fool herself in front of a bunch or rich people.

Weiss makes her way over to me. "And what time will you finish your fight?"

I plop down on the bed. "That depends on how hard of a fight the other person puts up."

She takes a seat next to me, crossing her legs and slipping my head onto her lap. Weiss' hair falls to one side, her eyes twinkling in the shaded dark.

I suck in a deep breath through my nose and exhale slowly. Letting relaxation run through my veins for once. Weiss runs her fingers through my hair, stopping and starting from the top whenever she gets down to the end.

A yawn rises in my throat. "Stop, you're making me…" I yawn loudly.

Weiss giggles softly. "Tired?"

"Yes," I yawn again.

Weiss doesn't stop massaging my head with her delicate fingers. It feels nice having someone take good care of my sore head after a long messy day. Then she tells me to sit up.

"What?" I yawn again. "Why?"

Weiss doesn't answer. She raises my head until I start to sit up myself.

"So, what are you planning on doing?" I ask, ruffling out my hair.

"Stop. I'm working here." Weiss grabs my hands and pulls them away.

A brow rises in perplexment. "What does that mean."

"Shh."

 _Did she just shush me?_ My bottom lip curled into a grumpy look and shoulders slouch. Weiss divides my hair up into three strands and she starts to weave my hair into a braid. I relax, letting Weiss do as she pleases.

She finishes within a couple of minutes and ties my hair up nicely. When pulling it to the front for examination, I notice the tip curls into a little loop. It puts a smile on my face for some reason.

"Your hair is pretty hard to contain, but I was able to do it," Weiss says.

My fingers brush over the bumps of each loop that is now intertwined with each other. "It's nice. You did a nice job."

"Thank you."

I turn to the little snow angel with a smile, but I'm immediately stopped by the flow of her let down hair. The ivory color reminds me of a rushing river that had suddenly frozen over in seconds. Weiss looked… stunning. But in all honesty, there is no way I can give her justice for describing how beautiful she looks.

"You should leave your hair down more often," I tell her.

Weiss doesn't look sure about the idea of leaving her down. She pulls her hair over her shoulder and runs her fingers through ivory silk, getting some of the tangles out. "It's long and gets in the way sometimes."

Long is an understatement. Weiss' hair is most likely longer than her body. Forget snow white, she's freaking Rapunzel!

"Oh, come on, Weiss," I whine. "You either have your hair up in a side pony, a braid, or a big fluffy, cloud, bun, thing. You need to let loose! Give your hair some air! I can tell it's begging to be shown off to the world."

"Really," Weiss sounds skeptical. "And you're a hair expert?"

"As a matter of fact, I am," I say with confidence. "It's hard to keep this golden beauty in top shape you know."

"Oh, I've seen the many hair care products in your bathroom, Yang. And quite fran-" She cut off by the buzzing of her phone.

Weiss plucks it out from her back pocket. She goes silent for a second. I watch as fear slow seeps into her face as color drains from it.

"What is it, Weiss?"

Terror whirls around in her eyes as she hands me the phone. I take it from her and read the text she received. My teeth grit in anger as I read the words over and over again.

 _Dear Weiss, I can't wait to see the look on your face when your world falls apart right before your eyes. It's closer than you think. With love, CW._

"It's not Cardin though," Weiss mumbles snapping my attention back to her. "Winter and Ironwood told us it was the White Fang and the Branwen tribe."

Weiss is right, it can't be Cardin. It has to be someone from the two parties that are doing this. But who though?

My finger taps on the phone as I search my brain, trying to find something that could give us a clue. Then something came to me. Mom's hard drive.

"Weiss… I think there is a way we can find the answers we are looking for." I say, hopping off the bed.

"What? How?"

I pull out the small device from my computer and show it to Weiss. "I think this will tell us."

? PoV

I sat the table, waiting for them to show. The bar had been cleared prior to this little get-together. The straw in between my fingers can't keep me entertained for much longer. One man companies me to this meeting. A gun rests in the waistband behind his back as he leans against the wall, a cigarette hanging from his lips. Some may say he looks intimidating, but man is a real dumbass.

"These bastards better hurry up or the deal is off." the man grumbles, blowing smoke out of his mouth.

"Patience Gean. They'll show up." I say calmly.

He scoffs. "And how the hell do you know that."

A smile creeps up on my lips. "Because if Dice wants his son back then he'll tell us what we need."

Gean grumbles as if something bad was going to happen. I don't blame him for his suspicions though. In a world where humanity craves power and dominance over each other, you must always be on your guard. Because if your not, someone else will snatch that power away from you in seconds.

"Do not worry, Gean. We have him right under our thumb." I say before taking a sip of my drink.

Gean's eyes sharpen. "And what if he finds about his son? What happens if he comes after us?"

I chuckle out of amusement. "By the time he figures everything out, we'll be long gone."

"What will we do with Weiss once we have her?"

"I'm sure we'll find some use for her. If not then she can be shipped off to some foreign country, never to be seen or heard of again."

"And what about… _her?_ "

My eyes narrow. " _She_ will not get in the way of my plans." I snap. "That bitch will not…"

The door opens quickly. Gean is off the wall now, hand ready to reach for his gun. A man in a dressy suit comes strolling in, hair slicked back, eyes sharp.

"Welcome, Dice. Please take a seat." I gesture to the chair in front of me.

He takes a seat and straightens out his tie. "What do you want?"

"It's simple really." I smile devilishly. "When is this charity party?"

* * *

 **So many questions will be answered... later. Much later. Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter and have a great weekend. Show some love by leaving a comment (and some criticism. It always helps.), liking, subscribing to 20 chapters. Also, show yourself some love, cause without your support, I don't think I would have made this far with the story. Have a great weekend... or you know... don't have a great weekend, and I'll see you guys next time... or not. BYE!**


	21. Chapter 21

**Okay, guys! I've been super busy the last couple of days with my sister being along with my niece. I've been babysitting her during the day which means I've been writing at night to stay caught up in my writing. But you're not here for excuses, enjoy the chapter and I'll see you guys at the bottom! BYE**

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Weiss' PoV

Hours upon hours of watching videos and nothing came up. Yang and I finally fell asleep do to exhaustion. The morning was pretty… interesting at the dinner table when eating breakfast. Tai and Summer kept glancing at Yang then they would look at each other in worry for their daughter. Every once in a while though, I would feel one of the parents' eyes on me.

It made me feel self-conscious about I had presented myself in the last couple of days.

I excuse myself to pack up my things. Winter will be here any minute now and she doesn't like it when time is wasted. That's what I was thinking, but I know the real reason why I left the table.

Summer was kind enough to wash my clothes separately from everyone else so it would be easier for me.

When folding everything up and putting my clothes in the suitcase, a knock from downstairs tells me that Winter has arrived. I sprint downstairs to the door before anyone else can get to it. Before opening the door, I straighten myself out and suck in a deep to calm my nerves.

"Okay. I'm ready." I open the door.

Winter is standing with her hands behind her back, wearing a pencil skirt and white blouse. "Hello, Weiss."

"Hey… hello, Winter." I forget how intimidating my sister can be.

A friendly smile forms on Winter's face. "It's good to see you."

The intimidation slips away from my older sister's face and I invite her inside. She gives everything a second glance just to make sure I've been staying at a nice modern home with well-suited attire.

"Who's that?" Ruby asks from behind.

I turn to the burnett. "Ruby, this is my older sister, Winter. Winter, this is Ruby, Yang's little sister."

Winter sticks out her hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Ruby."

Ruby takes Winter's hand and shakes it. "It's good to meet you too, Winter."

They release hands, letting Ruby guide us to the kitchen. Summer and Tai are talking to Yang about something. Most likely the incident with Qrow leaving out of the blue. They fall silent when we walk into the room.

Summer is the first to speak. "Well, hello there. You must Weiss'...

"Elder sister," Winter says. "Winter Schnee. It's a pleasure to meet the Xiao-Long family."

No one corrects her. Either no one is willing to tell her she's wrong or wants to explain to her the family situation at the moment, but I'm sure one day they will.

"I suppose you're taking Weiss back to Atlas," Yang said getting up from her chair.

Winter nods. "Yes. We worry for her safety."

"I'm sure you do." Tai pipes up. "Yang, why don't you help with Weiss' luggage and we'll clean up breakfast."

Yang doesn't argue. It looks like she doesn't want to be in the same room as Tai and Summer anyway. Yang walks us up to her room.

I had not realized how much of a mess Yang's room is until Winter showed up. Winter passes harsh judgment on people who don't keep thing nice and tidy. Yang doesn't seem fazed by Winter's disgusted look when seeing clothes and empty bottles of water lying around.

Yang plucks my luggage off the ground with ease. "So I have a question." She says.

Winter raises a brow. "What is your question."

"Can Weiss come to the beach before she leaves?" Yang doesn't hesitate.

I would love to go to the beach, but that isn't my choice to make. Winter's eyes sharpen, pondering Yang's question.

"No."

I guess she didn't ponder long enough.

"Please, Winter. We don't need to leave this second. We'll leave right after going to the beach."

Winter glares me down. "My answer is no. Now come, Weiss. We have to back to Atlas." Winter spins on her heels to leave the room but Yang stops her.

"You should really stop babying your sister," Yang says.

Winter turns back to us, a snarl on her face. "Excuse me?"

Yang crosses her arms and puffs out her chest. "You heard me."

The two giants glare each other down and I stuck between the two. There's no way I can hold off Yang, much less Winter, on my own. That's when Ruby walks in, not knowing that she saved three lives.

"I heard we were taking Weiss to the beach. We're leaving in ten minutes, so you guys better be ready." Ruby tells us before disappearing down stairs.

Yang wears a proud smirk on her face, waiting for Winter to say something. Now it depends on if Winter swallows her pride and allows me to go.

"I'll be back at 2:30 to pick you up," Winter instructs. She then turns around and leaves.

Once we're sure she has left, Yang pumps her fist in victory. "Yes, yes, yes!" She whispers in excitement.

It's a small victory at least and I'll take it without complaining.

"Hurry up, Weiss!" Yang cheers, rushing to her closet and digging through all of her clothes. "We need to get ready!"

I sigh at my overly excited girlfriend. "Why are you so excited about the beach?"

Yang turns to me with a mischievous smirk on her face. "Because _I_ get to see _you_ in a swimsuit."

My face pales. I never thought of Yang seeing me in a swimsuit. And compared to her, it'll be humiliating for me.

Yang snickered. "Of course you'll be seeing me in one too, but I think you'll be cuter."

"Uh… y… yeah." I squeak.

Yang laughs a throaty laugh. "Is someone getting giddy."

I'm quick to defend myself. "What! No, no no no no!"

Yang raises a brow. She knows I'm easy to read, like an open book. My heart on my sleeve and my emotions out in the open, I make everything too easy for her.

"Hey! We gotta go love birds!" Ruby yells at us from downstairs.

Yang slips into the bathroom to get dressed and I reopen my suitcase, rummage through my clothes and pull out a two piece white bikini decorated with baby blue flowers. I dig deeper into the clothes to try and pull out my swim shirt, but for some reason, I can't find it.

A wave of panic washes over me and I pull out all of my clothes liking for it, but to no avail. All my efforts were in vain. I had forgotten it at home.

We all piled up in the truck. Ruby on the right, Yang on the left and me in the middle. I wanted to sit in the back, but the beach towels, the cooler and umbrella took most of it. So I had no choice but to sit up here, awkwardly trying not to make as much contact with either girl as possible.

We drove straight through town without giving it a second glance. I wanted to explore more of the little town, but we were on a schedule and I have no time for stops either. So we pressed on.

It didn't take too long to get to the beach. When we did, not many people were there. The sun shining down and the nice beach breeze made it the perfect day for some time on the sand.

Ruby is the first to sprint out of the truck with her towel in tow. Followed by, her sister and my girlfriend, Yang.

I slide out of the truck and make my way over to join the two hyperactive sisters. But I stop to ask Tai and Summer if they need any help with carrying stuff.

Summer waves me though. "Go join them on the beach, Weiss. We can take care of the stuff."

I nod and join the sisters on the beach.

Ruby's already in the water with an aired up beach ball, calling us to come join her. I try to call back to her, but my voice catches in my throat as I gawk at Yang taking off her shirt.

She totally looks like a supermodel now. With her black bikini with the burning heart emblem on her left breast and black swim shorts, that's no possible way she couldn't be a supermodel.

I struggle to look away from Yang's well toned and tanned body. She looks so natural, so beautiful, so… so explosive and… and hot. Her looks turn my brain to mush without any effort. She makes me feel like a mess on the inside. _Gods, why can't I look that good?_ I thought while nibbling on my lips. Yang is completely making things harder for me.

"Yo, Weiss," Yang exclaims, snapping me out of my trance. "You coming or are you too busy enjoying the view!"

I try to answer, but my throat is all dried up like a Vacuo desert. Heart rapping angriest my rib cage when she flashes a devious smile.

 _Gods, gods, gods! Why does Yang have to be so hot!? With her tan skin, golden hair, well-toned body and her… her… assets! Ugh, it's killing me!_

Yang closes my mouth. "Someone's gawking too much!~" She says in a singing voice.

My face flames and I pull away, crossing my arms over my chest. "No, I wasn't!" I whine.

Yang shrugs. "If you say so. I'll meet you in the water."

Yang runs off, joining Ruby in some water volleyball. Summer and Tai come by and set up their stuff. Both happily relaxing in beach chairs under their rainbow umbrella. Summer reads a book while Tai watches his daughters play the water.

"Are you going to join them at some time, Weiss?" Summer asks while flipping a page.

I want to say yes, but then again I want to say no. It's complicated, okay. Everyone is fine with the way they look in their own skin, but I feel terrible about the way I look. Pale, short, small in some… areas and worst of all, I have a disgusting scar on my rib cage.

"No one is here to judge you, darling," Summer says in a sweet mother like tone. "Now go have some fun."

Summer words struck a chord with me. As if I've held myself back from back from having fun.

 _Don't let your scars, your past, control you… Let the pain go._ Yang's voice echoes in my head. I've let my past get in the way of having joy in my life. Now it's time to take back my joy and make the most of what I have now.

The shorts are easy to take off, but it takes some time for me to slip off my shirt. So many emotions and voices, scream in my head and pound in my heart, telling me to stop, but I can't. For too long, I've let the pains of the past take control of my life. Now it's my turn to take on control of it.

I pull off my shirt, take off my glasses, and set everything on Yang's towel in a nice pile. My arms cross over my chest and shoulders hunched to make myself look as small as possible. This all feels unnatural for me. To show off so much skin out in public is embarrassing to me. I do have a large sanna and pool at home, but those are private of course.

A high pitched whistle breaks through the air. It makes my face burn out of embarrassment and I pull my eyes to the sandy ground. _I don't need a cat call right now. Not like this. Not now and not ever._

"You look smoking hot, princess!" Yang cheered.

The dry sand becomes wet within a few steps. Now I'm standing inches away from the salty water. A wave comes rolling up over my toe. I cringe, expecting to be cold, but it's not. The water is surprisingly cool instead of the freezing temperature it usually is.

"Time to pick up the pace." Yang comes strolling up to me.

I realize what's about to happen and immediately start to back. "Now, just hold on, YAhhh!"

Yang scooped me off my feet and takes me to where she and Ruby have been playing. With my arms wrapped around Yang's and begging her not to drop me yet.

"Whoops." Yang lets go of me, letting my legs fall into the water.

The water soaks me up to my belly button. Now that there is no use to hold onto Yang, I let go, allowing my toes sink into the sand.

Yang puts an arm on my shoulder and pulls me close, my cheek pressed against her left breast. "You're looking pretty hot, princess!"

I'm too embarrassed to move or speak. Almost as if my body completely stopped functioning. _Don't look. Don't look. Don't look._ I chant in my mind, struggling to keep my gaze forward.

"Sweet! Now that Weiss has joined us, this will be more fun." Ruby's says.

It's hard for me to focus on her blurry figure, even when she's standing ten feet away from me.

"Weiss, stand over there." Ruby points to her… left? I think.

When I don't move, Yang snickers and helps me to my spot. "There you go."

Yang retreats back to her spot and Ruby continues to explain the game. "Okay. The game is simple. Don't let the ball touch the water and don't mess up and you'll be fine."

My brows knit together. "I'll be fine? What does that mean?"

The two sisters smile mischievously at each other. As if they were hiding something from me. I gulp, hoping I won't be the first the first to miss the ball.

"Three… two… one… Go!" Ruby slaps the ball to Yang.

She quick to react pounds it to me. This is not the right age for blind girls. I barely react in time to weakly bounce the ball back to Ruby who immediately sends it right back at me. I'm slow again to react and don't hit the ball hard enough.

It doesn't make to Yang or Ruby and floats down in the middle of us. Yang smirks and disappears under the water. I look at Ruby for an answer, but she only shrugs. She knows what's going to happen, but she refuses to tell me.

I keep my eyes peeled for the blonde mass of hair moving under the water. But blind people can't see well because they're are blind. It's making me a bit nervous not being able to see the muscular blonde.

Water ripples behind me. I turn to the tall blonde looming over me. Yang wraps her arms around my waist and throws me over her shoulder, into the water. Yang's and Ruby's laughs are muffled from the water. I come back up, my hair covering my face. I throw it back over my shoulder and march right up to Yang.

She has a hand resting on her hip and smirk on her face. "Someone's grumpy."

I jam a finger in front of her face to distract her then splash her in the face. Yang sputters, coughing up salt water while Ruby laughs at us.

Yang wipes the water off her face. "Okay, okay. You got me."

 _Better believe I got you. Dumb blonde._

Ruby throws the beach ball at the back of Yang's head. "Come one, love birds."

Yang spins around and immediately splashes Ruby. She yelps, putting her hands up to protect herself. It's ineffective no matter what.

"Weiss! Help!" Ruby cries.

I tap my chin, pretending to ponder my decision. "I don't know, Ruby? I think you kind of deserve this."

"Traitor!"

Yang stops splashing. "I don't think Weiss can be called a traitor if she was never on your side in the first place," Yang says.

Ruby shakes herself off and gives us a grumpy stare. Yang shrugs, giving her sister a smug look.

"What are you three doing?" Tai calls out, coming up to us. For an old man, Tai is ripped. I'm just saying the truth okay.

Tai scoops up the beach ball and passes it to Ruby. "Now that the teams are even, let's have some real fun."

"Bring it on, old man! I'll kick your butt just like in mario kart!" Yang cheers. "Weiss! Let's show these two what team freezer burn can really do!"

A brow rises in questioning. "Team freezer burn?"

"Yeah," Yang turns to me with a confident smile. "It's our team name."

"So we're expired, frozen, food," I say with sarcasm.

Ruby and Tai snicker and, honestly, it's pretty funny, but I won't laugh at my girlfriend's efforts to name our made up team.

"Yes, because your the freezer and I'm the burn," Yang explains.

For some reason, I felt insulted to be called a freezer. "Hey!"

Yang shrugs. "The truth hurts."

"Fine." I stroll over to Ruby's and Tai's. "Then I'm switching sides."

"You can't…"

"Don't worry, Darling. We can take these chumps." Summer has now joined.

Yang smirks and gets in a ready position. "Ready Mom?"

Summer smiles. "More ready than you think."

Tai and Ruby fall into a ready position while I cluelessly stand in the background. Ruby sets and serves the ball. Yang quickly reacts and slaps the ball back us. Tai sets the ball for Ruby and she pounds it back. This time Summer sets it and Yang hits it back. Straight to me.

My heart pounds against my chest as the inflatable ball comes spinning at me. It's rainbow colors almost putting me in a trance. Tai tries to get the ball, but he's barely able to tap it before splashing into the water. The ball is now way above my head and I would have to leap to get it.

I may not be the most athletic type, but I try launching myself as high as possible and stretch out my arm as much as possible. The ball rolls over my fingers and falls behind me, plopping against the water.

"Two points to team Golden Summer!" Yang cheers, giving her step-mother a high five.

"Good try, Weiss," Ruby says, giving me a thumbs up.

A small smile crawls up on my lips. I scoop up the ball and pass it back to Ruby. She starts the game up again.

We play water volleyball for at least thirty or until someone got too tired and said they were done playing for the day. After that, we head back to our little camp. Tai pulls out several bottles of water for the five of us and Summer starts to make sandwiches.

Yang rolls out her towel and lays down on it, slipping on a pair of aviators, allowing herself to soak in the sun. I take a seat on the free space that Ruby offord me. Tai hands us both some cold water and tosses one onto Yang's gut. She thanks Tai by giving him a thumbs up and goes back to sunbathing.

Summer passes around ham sandwiches for us all to munch on. It's no fancy sandwich, but it sure tastes like one. We enjoy each other's company until our bellies are filled. Tai and Summer go a walk across the beach and Ruby decides to build a sand castle. She asks me if I want to join her. I decline the offer leaving Yang and me alone together.

I watch as the waves roll in and pull out, roll in and pull. Almost as if a beast from deep below the surface was breathing in and out. It's rhythmic and calming to watch.

"It's nice out here, ain't it." Yang's voice draws my attention to her.

With her hands behind her head, glasses, a toothy smile, showing off every muscle she has, Yang looks pretty happy and relaxed.

My eyes ghost up and down her, taking in every skin. Stopping to let my gaze linger on her abdomen or her chest.

"Yeah… it is." I didn't realize how starstruck I've become by simply look at Yang's body.

Yang smirks. "I know you're looking at me."

I blush lightly and turn my back to her. "S… Sorry."

Yang shuffled behind me, her busty chest presses up against my back. Feeling the soft skin against my back causes me to blush strongly.

Her lips brush against my ear. "I don't mind your eyes on me, because I know you love this body."

Yang's words send this wave of emotions over me. The more I think about her words the more I feel uncomfortable and degrading. This sick gut wrenching feeling causes me to shrivel up in discomfort.

Why do her words have such an emotional effect on me? Is it because I loathe the way I look compared to Yang? Is it the hate that I inflict upon myself? Maybe it's the fact that I have no right to Yang's body and she thinks it's okay to serve herself to me without hesitation. No, her words just make me uncomfortable and I hate it.

I bury my face in knees, trying to hide as best as possible. _I don't look pretty. I don't feel pretty. I've got nothing and Yang… Yang has everything._

Yang's touch disappears for a second and comes back in the next. Her entire body weight leans against me. Her arms slide between my stomach and my thighs, and she holds me close.

"Did I say something wrong?" Yang has this concerning tone in her soft voice.

No. Yes? Is it Yang's fault or is it my fault for these emotions? I don't know how to respond, so I simply shrug, a low whine escapes my lips as well.

"Is your scar hurting?"

I shake my head.

"Well if it's not your scar and it's not what I said then it's those voices in your head." Yang rests her chin on my shoulder and whispers in my ear. "Then I want those voices to know that Weiss Schnee is the most beautiful and purest soul on this planet and no one deserves a gentle soul like hers."

Yang plants a kiss on my neck. The touch causes my hair to stand up and forces me to bite my lip to keep some inappropriate sounds inside.

I feel her warm fingers brush against my scar. I've always loved it when Yang acts gently around me. It's loving and caring.

The buzz of my phone pulls us away. Yang hands me the device. Winter's face is on the screen and I answer it immediately.

"Yes."

"Pack your things. I'm cutting your little beach party short." Winter says, she sounds angered.

I look at Yang for answers but realize that she's not actually listening to the conversation. "Why?"

A heavy sigh comes from the other side of the call. "I'll explain everything to you later. Now, I need you to get in the car."

My brows knit together. "Car? What car?"

The thunderous sound of an engine roaring ruins the peaceful scenery. The black muscle car flashes me down. It's windows so dark that I can't even tell if there is a person in it.

"I'll see you at home." Winter hangs up, leaving me with so many questions.

"I'm guessing it's time for you to go," Yang says, doing her best to hide the distraught sound in her voice.

She hands me my clothes and slips my glasses back on my face. I put on my shirt and shorts. Yang takes it upon herself to walk me to the muscle car.

When we come close to the car the passenger window rolls down on its own. "Welcome, Miss Schnee." A male voice greets. He's robotic but has a polite and formal tone to his voice.

Yang and I give each other side glances in questioning and out of bafflement. There's no one in the car.

"Uh… Hello?"

"Hello, Miss Xiao-Long. How are you today?" The car asks.

"Uh…" Yang looks at me, stumped as to what to say to a talking car. I cock my head to the car, telling her to answer. "I'm… good."

"That sounds Lovely. Do you mind if I take Miss Schnee Home?"

"Not at all."

"Prefect! Miss Schnee, would you please enter the vehicle." The car door pops open for me. "My name is Jax and I'll be your driver for the afternoon."

My breath is taken away with how luggerious the car looks on the inside. The black and brown leather seats, the sunroof, wood paneling, and fancy buttons easily make me swoon over.

"Your suitcase is packed and ready to go."

Jax's words almost fly over my head as I take in every detail of the car beautiful interior.

"Didn't know I would be beaten by a car," Yang mumbles.

I slap her on the arm. "You stop."

"Okay, okay." She snickers and holds out a hand to help me in the car. "Madam, your car awaits."

I take Yang's hand and slip into the seat, the door shutting behind me. It's nice and comfortable and has that new car smell. The temptation to press every button on the console is overwhelming. I almost drooled over every detailed art. Making cars takes art. To shape and mold a metal or stitch a fabric takes an artistic hand to do so.

"Well, bye."

 _Wait? What?!_

Yang started to walk off without giving me a proper goodbye. I reach out to grab her hand.

"Wait!"

Yang turns around, with a smile on her face. "Yes."

"Are you not going to give me a goodbye kiss."

Yang leans into the car window and gives me a strong kiss on the lips. I hum in ecstasy, feeling her lips on mine. I'll never be able to get used to this feeling that bubbles up in my chest.

The moment is obliterated when Jax decides to turn on some saxophone music to play in the background. I pull away and demand Jax to turn off the music. He apologizes and the music cuts off.

Yang chuckles awkwardly. "So… Monday?"

I nod. "Yes, Monday."

"Be safe."

Yang pulls out of the window and it rolls up. The car puts itself into reverse and pulls out of its parking spot. Yang waves to me as Jax pulls out of the parking lot, going to Patch's small airport.

I gaze out the window as we travel through the small town again. Instead of seeing all the little shops and people walking around, enjoying their day. I see a reflection of someone I haven't seen in a long time. She has this twinkle in her eyes and a bright toothy smile on her face. She happier and cheerful version of myself. The new me, who will never live in the past again.

* * *

 **Anyway, sorry for the inconvenience. I'll try to balance everything out so you guys can stay in touch with the story. But I might take a break to recuperate and not try to burn myself out with the end of year work and babysitting my niece. Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter! Like, comment, subscribe, and I'll see you guys next time! BYE!**


	22. Chapter 22

**Okay, okay. It took me a long time to finish this chapter because I've been so busy with family. Hey, the chapter is longer than normal though. So that's a plus. Hope you guys aren't too mad because of the wait. Hope you guys enjoy and I'll see you at the bottom.**

* * *

The flight back felt shorter than normal. Most likely because I took a shower and then a nap in my own private room. I got home around six and was greeted by Ironwood and Winter waiting for me in the foyer, both talking each other in a low voice for only them to hear.

Winter is the first to notice me and I instantly feel horrible with her piercing gaze on. Ironwood must have notice Winter's sharp because he turns to me.

"Ah, Weiss." Ironwood smiles. "Welcome home."

I'm barely able to give a proper wave to Ironwood. With Winter glaring me down, I'm surprised I was able to wave in the first place.

Ironwood realizes the one-sided tension between us and clears his throat loudly. "Your sister and I would like to discuss something with you if you don't mind."

I struggle to find my voice to answer. "No… not at all Ironwood."

Ironwood nods and Winter to lead us to a private room. Spinning and clicked down the hall, walking so fast that I have to sprint to keep up with her and Ironwood. We pass several vacant rooms until we make it to the dining room. No servants, no butlers, no maids. No one was in the room at the time which is perfect for us. We take our respective seats, Ironwood and Winter on one side, me on the other. Winter still giving me this sharp glare.

I swallow nervously. "So… what is this about?"

Ironwood wastes no time and jumps to explaining. "The reason why we wanted you home as soon as possible is that we've found out that Qrow had left which means you were no longer under our watch at the time and that can be dangerous."

I suppose that's reasonable, but what bothers me now is that Yang and Ruby are no longer under the same supervision as I am. What also has been poking at my brain is why wouldn't Ironwood know Crow's every move.

"It was foolish of you not telling me that Qrow had left you and your… girlfriend unsupervised." Winter pipes up, sounding setup. "What if something happened to you? None of us would have known."

I grip the armrest either out of anger or out of fear. "I didn't think much of it… besides, Yang's parents is a police officer and a firefighter."

"And the leader of one of the most dangerous gangs in Remnant," Winter says coldly.

Now that made my blood spike. She has no right to speak about Yang's mother like that. Winter has no idea how much Raven sacrificed for her daughter to have a normal life. What makes me more furious is how little she cares about Yang's family.

"You're treating this as a game, Weiss."

"And you're treating me like a child." I snap.

Winter's eyes narrow. "I'm only trying to protect you."

"Then about what the girl who thought her mother was dead? What about her family? Who's going to protect them?" My voice rises in anger. "You show no consideration for the people who will truly get hurt in the process."

"Weiss, we are only trying to…"

"I don't want to hear any more of your nonsense! I've already been put through enough of this emotional roller coaster ride!" I push off my chair and stomp out of the room.

Winter calls me repeatedly, but I ignore her and head straight up to my room, locking the door once I'm inside. Winter tries to get me to open the door by knocking and calling out my name for several minutes. After that, she gives up and leaves me to my own devices.

"How can they just do something like that? How can Winter possibly understand what Yang and her family been through? How can either of them understand?" I grumble as I paced back and forth.

I sigh and rub my temple. Everything has been a mess for the few days and I wanted none it right now. I sit on my bed and cup my face, groaning in frustration.

"What are we going to do, Yang."

Minutes tick by, nothing happens. I was waiting for something, anything to happen. Still nothing. A sign. Some kind of sign that I've messed. Something. Anything. I realize that nothing is coming to me and I drop it.

With the clothes put back in their rightful place, clean hair and body, no work or show to watch, I decide to read the book Yang got me. Only when looking for it, the book is not in my suitcase.

I search again and again to find it, but no luck. I had forgotten it at Yang's house. A knock on the door causes me to grumble in annoyance.

"All of your things are packed and ready to! Stupid car forgot to pack my gift." I grumble as I walked to the door. "How did it even get the luggage, much less pack itself up. None of that makes sense in the first place. He doesn't even have hands!"

Unlocking the door angrily and throwing it open, I ask what they want. I'm greeted by no one though. The halls are empty and are ghostly quiet. Another knock causes me to jump and spin around. A dark shadow stands outside on my deck. The figure sends a shiver down my spine.

The figure kneels down, slips something under the door and disappears. Seconds turn into minutes as I wait for the dark figure to come back, but it never does.

I take hesitant steps to the doors, looking out the window in both directions to see if I can spot the figure. It's gone.

A single slip of paper sits on the floor, folded. I pick it up and open the 's words make my eyes grow wide.

 _You've been lied to. -R_

 _R_ for Raven's name. The woman who had to disappear for nearly two and a half decades just appears out of the shadows and disappears again within seconds. Like a ghost in the night, she only shows herself if she wants.

I fold up the note and hide in some place where no one can find it. Telling Winter and Ironwood about this close encounter may not be the best option. If Raven is trying to tell me something then I can't have them getting in the way.

The next day, I eat breakfast alone as usual and visit mother at the hospital. She's regained some color since the last time I've seen her. Mother has been up and about now, enjoying the flowers in the hospital garden. A guard follows her around in case of an emergency of some sort.

The nurse told me that when leading me down to the gardens. I thank the nurse and wander down the path, walking past several people who have missing limbs or too old to be walking on their own. It puts a smile on my face to them out and about, getting some fresh air.

A couple more turns past some rose bushes and lovely trees, I spot mother sitting on a bench near a man-made river with a little waterfall. The guard is standing a few yards away, most likely to get a better view of the area.

"Hello, mother," I say from behind.

Mother swivels her head to me, a warm smile on her face. "Hello, Weiss. How are you?"

I come up to mother and take a seat next to her. "I'm good."

It's a lie though, but I can't explain everything to her, not now. Not while she's still trying to recover.

For a few minutes, we enjoy each other's company. Listening to the river calmly ripple, feeling the nice late spring breeze roll over us. The sensation cleared my head for a moment.

"So?' Mother speaks up. "You and Miss Xiao long are dating."

The nice calming moment is instantly replaced with the feeling fear and failure towards myself. I would think that she would be upset with my love life and I should break up with the balmy blonde immediately. She didn't.

Mother simply turns to me with a soft smile. "Is she nice?"

I don't respond in the snap of a finger. It takes time for me mull over mother's words. "She's more than nice, mother. Yang is loving and cares deeply for my well being."

"She sounds lovely. When will I be able to meet her?" Mother sounds excited which throws me through a loop.

"At the charity that Dice set up at the end of April." I reply.

"A charity?" Mother asks. "Why is Dice throwing a charity?"

"For your return."

I forget that mother hasn't been in the family circle much in the last couple years, though we do try our best to keep her informed.

"Hm. Why on earth would he do that?"

I'm somewhat perplexed as to why Mother would ask such an odd question. I gave her a clear answer, so why would she ask the same question differently.

"What do you mean?" I ask.

Mother looked at me, straight-faced. "Why would he throw a charity for me? Where will all that money go?"

These were good questions that I never thought of. It did seem strange as to why Dice would throw a charity for mother.

Mother turns back to the river. "An odd man, wouldn't you say?"

I join her in the stare. "He… He is."

For some reason, this makes me a bit unsettling. Raven's note flashes in my mind. Could she be referring to this? Could Dice be lying about the charity? Could he simply use it as a cover-up or something more?

"How is Winter?" I'm pulled from my thoughts when mother changes the subject.

I pull my hands into my lap, messing with the wrinkles of my dress. "She's… busy."

Hardheaded and stubborn are true too, but mother already knows that.

Mother shakes her head. "That girl needs to slow down or she might miss the opportunity of a lifetime."

"Like what?"

"Like having a family or being part of one at least."

Winter had pushed herself away from the family. Since she left, Winter had become distant with us, but I understand why she would. Being a secret agent meant being excluding yourself from others and making yourself own isn't the best idea.

"Have you two been doing anything fun for the last couple of days?" Mother asks.

I shake my head. "Well, Winter's been busy with agent stuff and I went to Patch to visit Yang."

I didn't notice the twitch on mother's lips when I tell her that I was with Yang over the spring break.

"How was your stay at your girlfriend's house?" It felt weird hearing mother say, girlfriend. Like it was some foreign word that she spoke.

"It was interesting, to say the least." It's a lukewarm lie which doesn't make me feel as bad.

"Was it fun?"

"It was fun. We went on a date around her hometown. Then we went to this spot way out in the middle of nowhere and saw the most beautiful stars. The next day we had milkshakes for breakfast and…" I stop myself mid-sentence to keep myself from spilling my guts in front of mother. "Then we went home and relaxed."

"And yesterday?"

"We went to the beach."

Mother turns to me once again, a sad smile on her face. "I'm happy to know that you've been taken care of without me being there."

Mother didn't mean my stay at the Xiao- Long/Rose household. She meant the last couple years of her being absent in my life. Mother has been hospitalized for nearly six years. I was sixteen at the time when she was taken to get surgery for the first tumor. She missed so much and she apologizes for almost every time I come to see her.

"It's okay, Mother," I say, resting a hand on her shoulder. "If you didn't go to the hospital when you did then you would…"

"I would have died. Honey everyone dies at some point. Hospitals and medical treatment are just delays for the inevitable." Mother sounds cryptic as if she didn't want to live.

It has me worried for her health, mentally and physically. Mother has been in a glump mood since last school year at Christmas time. Though I never thought of it then, it strikes a chord with me now. Mother became depressed over the years. I had been hoping that coming to see her at least once a month would her, but it only hurt her more.

"For the rest my natural life, Weiss. I'll never be in good health. I will suffer until my body cannot take any more." Mother says calmly.

She was prepared to die. To pass on and fade away from existence. To leave everything behind. To leave me behind.

"The only reason why I didn't let the sickness overtake me is because I wanted to see you grow into the strong woman you are today." Soft azure eyes look at me. I look back the eyes.

Mother's smile becomes soft and caring. "Every day I fought for my life because I believed you needed me. Now-"

I squeeze mother's shoulder and cut her off. "Now I need you more than ever, mother. I need you! I need you even in passing! I will always need you here with me."

Mother has this surprised look in her eyes.

"I know it's hard. I know it's painful. But you have to let the past go. We'll make new memories together and in the end… I'll always be your daughter."

Tears welled up in mother's eyes as I spoke. It's hard to tell what emotion she's feeling, because of the scrunched up look on her face. Happy? Sad? Self-regret? Angered? I can't make a logical guess as to what she felt.

In an instant, mother pulls me into a hug. Our chins rest on each other's shoulders. Unlike Yang's warm and forgiving hugs, this one's sad and asking for forgiveness.

Mother speaks confidentially. "Oh, Weiss. You grew to be as kind-hearted as me and as strong as your father."

I don't show it though, but I am taken back by the mention of father. Mother has never spoken about him since his death. It was too painful for her to even recall the memories, merely to forget about him is easier.

"I love you, Snow White." Mother whispers.

I hold mother tighter to me. "I love you too."

I depart from the hospital around one and get home at two. Dice is at another meeting and Winter is… being Winter.

Once in my room, I wind down for the day, watching interesting facts videos and reading some books. What I haven't done in a while is draw. So I pull out a clean sheet of white paper, a pencil, an eraser and some colors.

The first thing I draw is Yang with her signature smile. Then her curly blonde mane. Next to her body and clothes. To be honest, I have no idea what I'm going to do next. I made the simple mistake of having Yang take up to the whole paper.

I didn't mind too much though. I'm just struggling to find a good spot to add myself. Nothing really stuck with me and it's becoming a bit bothersome now. Then something clicked. I grab the eraser and erase Yang's left breast pocket.

I blow off the eraser shavings and begin to draw again. It takes a little more time and detail to draw what I've envisioned.

Once finished with the new add-on, I smile with satisfaction. I was in Yang's left breast pocket, head poking out, an arm dangling from her pocket. My free hand holding up an offset crown that nearly slumps over my right eye with a sheepish smile on my face. The drawing looks a bit unrealistic, but I love it anyway.

In the top left corner, I wrote pocket princess in swirly letters. It reminds me of some kind of comic book where two weirdos from different worlds become befriends and do a whole bunch random things and have a lot of fun while doing it.

I immediately get the feeling to take a picture and send it to Yang. And that's what I did. Knowing that this idea is because of Yang's stupid nickname, I might as well show her what I've created from it. A proud feeling swells up in my chest after pressing the send button.

It doesn't take long for Yang to respond to my text. _Aww! You look so cute! I wish I had a real one right now!_

A smile comes upon my lips, knowing that Yang truly loves my drawing. _Sounds like someone is pretty bored right now._

 _No. It's late and I miss my snuggle buddy._

 _Oh, and a miniature version of me is going to fix that. How would you be able to snuggle a miniature me anyway?_ It may not have been a good idea to ask Yang how she would snuggle mini-me.

 _I would lay her on my pillow or on my stomach and cup a hand over her to keep her warm and happy._

I shake my head, chuckling softly. _Why am I not surprised that you would actually give me a crazy answer like that._

 _Oh, and I suppose you have a better idea?_ I picture Yang with a curious glint in her eyes when asking me if I did. She knows I'll fall into her trap and make myself look like a fool in front of her. At this point, I'm surprised by her little shenanigans.

 _Yes. If I were you I would hold her close to my heart._

 _Haha! Weiss, have you seen my tits? I don't want to suffocate the poor girl!_

My face flames out of embarrassment, knowing full well that I set myself up for a response like that. I'm quick to defend myself though.

 _That's not what I meant! I mean hold her close to you as in love her. Care for her. Tell her she's smart and cute and funny and has a contagious smile._

Yang doesn't buy it though. _It's okay, Weiss. I know you like my boobs._

I instantly want to scold my girlfriend for being… for being… for being a dumb blonde half the time.

 _Not everything is about your chest, Yang._

 _No, it's not. You did set yourself up for that though._

 _I know and I'm paying the price now._

 _Hey! You know what would be cool? If you started drawing comics!_

I've always loved to draw and I've enough action movies, read enough books and comics as well as manga to know what I'm doing. It would be cool if started drawing comics. Maybe not for the world to see, but for just Yang and I… maybe.

 _It's getting late over here. Love ya, pocket princess! Night!_

 _Goodnight, little sun dragon._

The rest of my day is uneventful. Dice doesn't come back from his meetings until it late at night and Winter never shows up to the manor. I eat dinner alone and take a quick shower before going to bed. Raven's note is still burned in front of my mind. I knew my sleep would a bit restless.

The next day, I wake with a sore back, hair a frizzy mess and droopy eyes. When sitting up, the caller slips off the side of my shoulder.

"Coffee." I groan.

Rubbing my eyes to get the sleep isn't too effective, but I don't care too much and slowly crawl out of bed. I put on my glasses and exit the room, yawning softly.

Klein made cinnamon rolls and a nice warm cup of cinnamon coffee as well. Both waiting for me on the table when I walk in. No one joins me for dinner and I eat alone once again.

"Pardon the interruption, Miss Schnee, but Winter would like to meet with you in fifteen minutes," Klein informs.

I set the warm cup of liquid down. "Thank you, Klein."

"She'll be in Dice's office waiting for you."

The attire I'm wearing now is improper for a meeting, but I don't care. I finish eating and make the long walk to Dice's office. Upon my arrival, I hear two voices speaking from inside. I can't tell what these two voices are saying or who it is, so I simply wait for someone to exit.

Waiting though is not my forte and curiosity gets the best of me. I knock.

There isn't an immediate answer, but it's more announcing than usual. The door opens and Winter pulls me in quickly.

Ironwood and Dice were still talking when I'm pulled in. They halt their talking when the door closes with a click and turns their attention to me. I become self-conscious about how I look and awkwardly wave at the two with a sheepish smile.

"Miss Schnee," Ironwood says in a firm tone. "We brought you here to inform you that Dice has agreed to your move from the Beacon dorms to a penthouse near your school."

If Dice has agreed to the penthouse idea then Ironwood must have told him about everything that is going on. I'm surprised that he's taking the news better than I thought.

"Weiss," Dice says with a firmness in his voice. I become nervous about Dice's tone, knowing that he could be upset and disappointed with what we've been hiding.

"Ye...yes, sir."

He steps up to me, his eyes sharp and lips thin. He becomes relaxed in an instant. "I'm so sorry this had to happen to you. If I knew sooner than I would have sued Mister Winchester's son in a heartbeat."

I hide my surprise and roll with the idea of him not knowing what's truly going on. "I… I'm sorry. I thought he would come after me if I told anyone. I was just so scared." I taint my voice with sadness to pull off the act. I tell myself it's for the greater good for to Dice does not know.

Dice pulls me into a hug. "I'm glad Winter found out about the incident before anything escalated."

"Yeah… I'm… glad too."

The tall man pulls away and we break away from our hug. Ironwood explains the situation to me again but in a different way. He used this story to sike out Dice, let him think that Cardin is the threat and not some crazy gang members and the White Fang.

"You will be leaving in the afternoon. Jax will pick you up from the airport to take you to the penthouse. Guards will be outside the penthouse and as well as inside. We have that area on lockdown for your safety. A guard will also escort you to and from school to ensure your safety, Weiss." Said, Winter. "Do you understand?"

I nod. "Yes, Winter. I understand."

"Good. You are excused from the meeting. Ironwood and I still need to go over somethings with Dice before taking you to Atlas Airport."

I quickly make my exit. Questions swam around in my head as I make the long trek back to my room, trying not to hyperventilate. Ironwood and Winter had scared me into thinking that Dice actually knows what is going on behind closed doors. Now they are using Cardin as a scapegoat, pinning everything on him. Did they ever think about the consequences if Dice accuses him of threatening me? What if he actually does try to sue Cardin and ends up finding out something bigger than he would expect? What if he finds out the truth that I'm being hunted by my girlfriend's undead mother? Would Dice let me see Yang if he does? Or will he lock me up in a tower, never letting me out?

These thoughts scare me, but I can't let them get to me. I have a part to play and I need to hold myself together until all this blows over.

Minutes turn into hours when I wait patiently for Winter to come get me. Everything is packed and ready to go. I made sure I had this time.

Winter comes barging in without a simple knock, demanding me to grab my things and head straight to the car. I didn't argue.

Grabbing everything and heading to the car was going to be a piece of cake if I hadn't run into Cinder on the way out.

She gave me this mischievous smile as I stood in front of her.

"Hello there, princess." She has this not too pleasant tone in her voice. It sends chills down my spine.

It angered me that she would use a nickname. I don't waste my time acknowledging the woman and push past her. Cinder huffs in annoyance when she doesn't get a reaction from me.

"Excuse me. I'm talking to you." Cinder growls.

I turn to her. "Sorry. Hello and goodbye." I walk away leaving the huffy woman to her own devices.

Emerald didn't magically show up at the door when I walked out and I'm glad she didn't. Klein has the car door open and waiting. Another servant takes my luggage and puts it in the back while Klein gladly helps me into the car.

The drive and flight go by in a flash for me. Just like Winter had said, Jax is waiting for me on the landing strip. A man is already throwing my stuff in the door pops open when I get close to the muscle car.

"Welcome back, Miss Schnee," Jax says in his monotone robotic voice.

I climb in, the door shuts and the car takes off on its own. Buildings swim across the windows as we drive down the highway. We pull off the highway and take several turns. Beacon university soon comes into view. Students are already walking around the school grounds walking and laughing. The university disappears behind a group of buildings soon after.

Jax pulls over next to a nice modern looking apartment building. The door swings open as well as the trunk.

"Welcome to modern living, Miss Schnee."

I thank the car, take out my stuff and make my way into the building. It smells nice inside. Fake plants take up every corner and every red or black armchair makes a maze across the floor. One man in a white polo shirt and khakis, calls my name and waves me over to the elevator. He's young and has spiky black hair with a big smile on his face.

The way he looks gives me a creepy vibe about him, but he's kind enough to hold the elevator open for me. I hustle into the elevator, thanking the boy.

The elevator door closes and the boy takes me to the top floor. We sit in an awkward silence as the floors tick by. I keep my gaze on the floor, making sure I don't start a conversation with the creepy elevator boy.

A breath releases from my lungs when the elevator finally stops and the doors open. I thank the boy once again and step out before the door closes.

The penthouse is opened spaced with the kitchen and living connected. It's fully furnished and roomy, having a nice homey feel to it. French doors lead out to the patio and a hallway leads to the back where the rooms are.

"Nice place, ain't it!" A blonde calls from the living room. Nice is a bit of an understatement.

I try finding Yang. "Yes, it is," I reply.

Yang's oranges socked feet are hanging off the side of the couch, her toes wiggling happily. I leave my luggage outside the elevator entrance and quietly make my way to the couch. Leaning over the couch, come face to face with Yang, who would have head-butted me if she didn't stop.

"Hello." I breathe.

"Hey."

Yang leans up and gives me a warm kiss on the lips. I hum happily feeling her lips on mine.

"Oh, gross!" A brunette squeaked. "Get a room, you two."

We break away from our kiss, Yang giving Ruby this teasing look.

She jams a finger at her sister. "You make a dumb sex joke then I'm going put gum in your hair."

* * *

 **It took some time for me to get everything together. Sorry for the wait again. Leave some criticism, it does help. Like, comment and subscribe. BYE!**


	23. Chapter 23

**I don't have much to say except enjoy the chapter and I'll see you at the bottom.**

* * *

Yang takes my luggage to our room, then gives me the grand tour of the penthouse. Everything is modern with stainless steel and has a white and black mix of furniture. The place isn't really that colorful but it is still nice.

She also told me that shallow is staying in the kitchen, napping in her kennel for now, and her food in the closet pantry. It puts a smile on my face knowing Ironwood kept his word.

Next, she takes me to the deck where a hot tub and deck chairs are. Yang turned on the outside lights, because of the sun's fading light. We get a beautiful view of Beacon University.

"Woah! It's so amazing out here." I say, pressing the palms of my hands against the railing to look over the edge.

"Yep!" Yang raises her hands up. "And it's all ours until everything is figured out."

I try to take in as much detail as I can before Yang ushers me back inside, saying there's something really cool that she would like to show me. I tell myself that I'll come back to the amazing view later, Yang wants to show me something now.

She leads me to the back where our rooms are. Yang seems so excited to show this 'surprise' to me, like a kid on Christmas Day.

Yang stops in front of what I'm guessing is our room, whips around and clasping her hands together. "Miss Schnee! May I present to you the most wonderful room in all of Remnant!"

Yang throws open door and my breath is instantly taken away. Cases upon cases of books that I've never heard of or seen before sat in this one room. It had several reading corners, window benches, and even its own hanging chair. Each area had blankets and pillows and little tables for your books or for your coffee.

"Yang, this is… it's… I… I don't know what to say!" My mind cannot comprehend how amazing this room is. "How… how did you do this?"

Yang shrugged. "I used some magic spells to create this place."

I know she's joking, but I can't simply ask her to be serious and tell me. That would be rude and it's not in Yang description to be serious all the time.

"I can't wait to start." I breathe, already reaching for a book. Yang though slaps my hand from the shelves.

I quickly retracted my injured body part and give Yang a strong huffy glare. She doesn't seem to take notice of my annoyance.

"You can't read those just yet." She states.

I huff like an angry child, it makes Yang laugh.

"Why not!?"

"Because" Yang pulls out a book from behind her back. "You still need to read this one."

It's the book that Yang had bought for me. It must hurt Yang's feelings to realize that I forgot to pack her gift before leaving.

Yang hands me the book and I take it. "Sorry for leaving your gift behind. I didn't mean to."

She shrugs again. "Eh, it's fine. I blame the car for not having hands."

"That's what I said!"

Yang giggles. "Your such a dork."

She wraps her arms around my neck, chest against my back, and rests her chin on my head. "But you're my dork."

A small half smile creeps up on my lips. "I know I am."

We move to the kitchen where Ruby made some dinner for us. I've heard that she takes after her mother in cooking. It must be true because the chicken enchiladas were amazing. We talk about our plans for this week. Ruby has several projects that are due, Yang has a fight this Tuesday, and I have nothing particular going on this week, just the normal school stuff.

"You could always go to Yang's fight this Tuesday," Ruby says as she dishes herself another enchilada. "Tons of people show up just to see if anyone can take down the champ!"

Yang nods in agreement as she chews, swallowing then speaks. "Yeah, and this one is going to be the biggest fight of the year."

"Why is that?"

"Arslan Altan has had it out for me since our first fight freshman year," Yang explains. "She's always been second, always behind me."

"That… that must be hard." I say, picking at the last bite of food with a fork.

"Yeah, it's hard to train your whole life and come to find out someone is better than you." Yang takes another bite after answering.

"It's not easy being number one either. Right, Yang." Ruby chimes in.

The blonde shakes her head. "No, it's not. I'm held to a higher standard than most of the fighters. When boxing comes around the camera always seems to find itself on me. What I eat. What I do. Who I hang out with. It's all the same crazy bullshit… Er." Yang cringes realizing she let the word slip. "Sorry, Weiss."

I shrug off the word, more intrigued as to what Yang means than what she's said.

"Being first isn't as fun as everyone says it is," Yang says.

She shoves the last bite of food in her mouth and takes her plate to the kitchen. We're felt with a somewhat tense silence as if Yang doesn't like being on top of the world. I don't disagree with her. Being in the public eye sucks.

"She doesn't mind being the best at what she does." Ruby mumbles. "It's just that… She's been put on a pedestal for so long that people simply think they can't get on her level… that's what bothers her so much."

"And one wrong move can give her a bad reputation," I add.

Ruby nods. "Yeah… that too."

She gets up from the table and joins Yang in the kitchen, leaving me on my own. From what I understand is that Yang used enjoy mix martial arts, it gave her this rush or something. Now it's like she's supposed to uphold other people's expectations instead of her own. They want her to win all the time. Of course, I want her to win too. But, as long as she's having fun while doing the thing she loves then I don't care if she lost every round.

Yang pops her head out of the kitchen. "Yo, Weiss! You want some cookies?"

I agree with Yang's offer and join the two sisters in the kitchen. Yang hands me a cookie and a cup of milk. They're the same gooey cookies I had on the day of my arrival at Yang's Home and they are just as good, maybe even better than last time.

"Blake and Ilia are coming over later tonight and don't worry about Ironwood saying no. I checked in with him already.. Would you like to meet a new friend tonight? She's just as short as you are~" Yang smiles, nudging me with an elbow.

"I'm starting to think that you're just the tall one," I reply. "And judging from how up you are, your brain isn't getting enough oxygen."

Ruby snickers in the background and Yang gives me this face like 'how dare you insult your blonde girlfriend.'

"Fine." Yang huffs. "You think you can insult your girlfriend without any consequences? I'll show you."

My face drains of color and I dash out of the kitchen, Yang right on my tail. Her powerful arms snake around me, crushing my arms to my sides. My breath begins to pick up speed, realizing how defenseless I feel. Vision becoming a black blurry in an instant as the panic attack slowly begins to build.

 _Not now._ I thought. _Why did it have to be now?_

My chest tightens, heart throbbing for space, lungs now working overtime, sucking in and pushing out too quickly.

His voice began to arise in my head. I squirm and kick, trying to break free of my prison. Another voice echoes through my head I can't tell who though.

" _You bitch." He spat. "You've turned into a whore!"_

 _No no no no no no!_ I thought. The squirming turns into thrashing, violently kicking and screaming in the hopes of someone hearing me or seeing me.

A palm crosses my face, leaving a stinging mark on it. I couldn't see the monster in front of me. My hair yanked me back and I came face to face the despicable human being that wormed his way into the family.

" _You're a disgrace. A disappointment. A bitchy ass whore that clings to a slut in bed." He roars_.

I wanted to pull away, to run, to flee. But where would I go? He'll follow me wherever I go and nothing will stop him to make my life a living hell.

 _Weiss._ A soft voice echoes. _Weiss, are you okay?_

I recognize the voice from anywhere.

 _I'm here, Weiss. You're safe, I promise._

Yang.

I feel hope and happiness fill my body as I listen to her voice. _Don't focus on anything else_ , I tell myself. _Just Yang's voice. Listen to her and no one else._

The monster becomes angered that I'm no longer paying attention to him and begins to furiously scream at me, thinking that I'll listen. But nothing can overcome Yang's soft and caring voice.

My eyes flutter open, hands gripping Yang's strong arms, her eyes beaming with concern, kneeling down next to the couch. I release her arms and try to loosen up.

"Are you okay?" She asks with a soft tone.

I nod, groaning in complaint of my now aching head. Yang straightens out my glasses and pushes the loose strands of hair behind my ear.

"You started having a flashback, didn't you." Yang's voice drips with sadness.

Another nod.

She sighs. "Sorry about that."

I try to sit up but Yang keeps me down. "No! No. Stay down." There's a plea in her voice.

I don't argue and stay down. Yang holds my hand, rubbing my knuckles with her thumb.

"You started to scream seconds after I picked you up." She says. "It wasn't some playful or surprised scream. It was a scream for help."

Her words send a chill down my body. How could that monster have so much effect on me? What's keeping him here in my mind? I want him gone.

"You kicked and thrashed around like an animal in a trap, you couldn't escape from it," Yang mumbles.

My bottom lip quivers. So many emotions run through me. Anger, fear, sadness, defeat. It's all coursing through my vein, making my blood run colder than a frozen river. Tears swell up in my eyes. I squeeze them shut, hoping to hold back the salty liquid, but it only makes things worse. The tears trickle down my cheeks. I whip them away, but they always seem to come back.

"Is she… okay?" Says Ruby.

We turn to the brunette girl standing in the doorway. Ruby's rubbing her arm, nervously waiting for an answer.

"Yeah, she's fine Rubes. Just a little shaken that's all."

Ruby breathes a sigh of relief, happy to know that I'm okay. She asks Yang if I need anything. Yang tells Ruby to call Blake and tell her that she'll have to come over another time. Ruby nods and disappears back into the kitchen. Yang scoops me up and takes me to our room. I wrap my arms around myself for extra comfort.

The door opens to the dimly lit room, light shining from the hallway. A king-sized bed sits on the other side of the room. Yang takes long strides and sets me down on the bed, then asks me if I need a spare pair of clothes. I wave her off, saying that I can get them myself.

"Do you want me to stay here?"

I shake my head no, telling her I'll be fine, that I just need a breather. Yang hesitates to leave though. It takes time for her leave until I finally wave her off. The door closes, leaving me in the dark.

Yang's PoV

"You sure it's wise to leave her by herself?" Ruby asks as she cleaned off all the dishes from dinner.

I take a sip of water that Ruby had poured for me. "No… but if she wants to be left alone then I'll leave her alone."

"I don't think it's a good idea to leave Weiss by herself in the dark though."

She does have a point. I should have at least turned on the light for the little snowflake before leaving her alone.

"You may be right, Ruby. But if a girl says she wants to be alone than that means to leave her alone."

Ruby looks me at a bit perplexed. "I thought it meant to be there for her even she doesn't want you around."

My eyes wander to the pool of liquid in the cup. We're both rights of course, but you got to take in the consideration of a girls emotions. Are they mad? Sad? Scared? It's the simple th… I wouldn't say girls have simple emotions, they're pretty complicated if you ask me.

I rub my thumb up and down the cool glass. "Did you at least tell Blake and Ilia not to come over."

"M'hmm."

"Thanks, Rubbles. "I say before taking the last gulp of my water and putting it in the sink.

It became later than I had originally thought and head to back to my bedroom, but not before telling Ruby that she should get to bed. She hums in response to show that I've been acknowledged but I'll be ignored anyway. After doing my part of parenting, I don't see Ruby for the rest of the night.

I knock several times, waiting for Weiss to tell me it's okay to come in. When she doesn't respond, I slowly and calmly open the door. Weiss is already in bed, sleeping, half dressed in her PJs and hugging her pillow close to her body.

 _Man, that flashback must have taken a lot of energy out of her._ I thought as I shut the door. The room becomes dark again, causing me to move slowly cross the floor to my belongs in the closet. A few short minutes of sneaking and silently cursing as I bump into things, I make my way to the bed and slowly crawl in. The sheet is nice and comfortable against my body, like a cloud on a warm spring day.

I warm my way of over to the little snow angel, wrap an arm around her waist and pull her in close to my body. She murmurs, squeezing the pillow she's been hugging tighter and settles back down.

I relax into Weiss's body, legs intertwining with hers, chin inches from her head, and an arm safely wrapped around her to her keep close. And to top it all off, I give Weiss a peck on the head.

"I'm not going to let anyone or anything hurt you, princess," I whisper. "As long as I'm here, no one will hurt you."

With those final words, I fall asleep.

The next morning, I wake to Weiss missing bed again. Panic doesn't course through my veins though this time. I can her in the bathroom changing into jeans and a blouse. She struggles to button up the last three buttons, tempting me to crawl out of bed and help her.

Then something alarming happens.

Weiss begins to cough violently as if something was caught in her windpipe. This causes me to rush out of bed immediately and dash into the bathroom. Weiss is startled by my magical appearance in the door and tucks on her blouse to cover up.

I hadn't noticed how terrible she looked until I was up close and in her bubbles. Purplish, black bags hung under her bloodshot eyes, her skin paler than normal. than. She looked sick and sleep deprived.

"Weiss, what are you doing up so early?" I sound like a concerned mother. "You sound and look sick. Go back to bed."

Weiss blinks several times, looking at me as if I just spoke in ancient Remnant.

 _Gods, this girl in so out of it today._

Weiss drags her gaze to the floor, now gripping the unbuttoned part of her blouse close to her as if she was afraid. "I… I had a nightmare." Weiss mumbles.

I let the words sink in, eyes slowly widening. "Oh…" my shoulders slump in defeat.

Sniffles and hiccups fill the room. Weiss struggles to keep her emotions in check, quickly trying to wipe the snot and tears away.

"Oh, Weiss." I pull the small girl into a warm hug.

Weiss begins to sob uncontrollably, burying herself in my shoulder.

 _It's not fair._ I thought. _It's not fair for her to deal with something like this. It's not fair for her to feel this pain when I promised I would protect her from anything. I'd do anything to let Weiss have a normal life again._

Weiss something that I don't quite catch and pulls away to look me in the eye. She looked like a literal mess. I sigh, rubbing her arm up and down.

"You're staying here today," I say.

"But…"

"No buts." My voice rose. Weiss doesn't seem to like me being demanding, but it's for her own good. "Please go back to bed, Weiss."

Weiss becomes tight-lipped and scuffles passed me, getting back in bed. Great, now I'm the bad guy.

Leaving Weiss alone again to rest up, I move into the kitchen and begin to make breakfast. It doesn't take Ruby to come join me in the kitchen. She said she wanted to make sure I didn't burn anything this time. I scoff at her attempt to make me feel better.

It's funny to know when your sibling is in a bad mood or in a good. It's like a sixth sense that every sibling has. A blessing and a curse at times.

Ruby hops up on the counter as I begin to make eggs. "How is she?"

"She's… she's stuck in a hard place right now." I say.

Ruby cocks her head, raising a brow in question. "What do you mean?"

I tap some salt and pepper out onto the egg and wait. Moving my hands distracts me and right now I need a distraction.

"Yang?"

"She's just… Weiss is struggling, Ruby, and I don't know what to do." I try to stay calm, but the rising panic in my voice is all too clear. "It's a mess! Everything is a mess! And I don't know what the hell to do!"

Ruby goes bug-eyed from my little outburst. I surprised as well. I haven't sounded so desperate for answers since finding that mom is alive. Even before that I've never sounded so distressed and scared for what would happen next.

Now Ruby is worried for me. "Woah, Yang." She sounds just as worried too.

I don't respond. Ruby puts a hand on my shoulder to show that she's here to support me, but I don't feel the support at all. I feel like the whole world decided to go against me.

The eggs sizzle and pop, asking to be flipped. It's the only thing that fills the silence in the room. I flip the eggs and walk off, telling Ruby to make the rest of breakfast.

The deck door opens and closes with a click. I plop down on one of the deck chairs, it groans in protect of my weight. The nice morning air is breezy and warm on my skin. It doesn't blow away my stress and anxiety for Weiss though.

A sigh passes my lips, showing my frustration in the air. Trying to keep everything together is hard when you are breaking faster than you are getting fixed.

I could sit out all morning seeing that I have no classes until ten thirty. Which is a plus for someone who loves sleeping in.

The minutes tick by, the sun rising over Beacon, students walking to class enjoying their normal lives. It's peaceful for everyone but us. Trapped in a tower of luxury and luxury can only go so far for one person.

Ruby comes out with some eggs, orange juice, and toast. She sets my food down the table then says that she's going to class and says bye.

It takes me some to start eating instead of falling deeper into my thoughts.

The eggs taste like eggs, the juice tastes like juice and the toast like toast. Everything is the same for everyone… except. Why couldn't I get a normal life? A normal family? A normal girl...

 _Stop!_ I tell myself. _That girl in there has done nothing wrong._

I pick up my things and head inside. Everything is lifeless and dull without the movement of people to bring it all to life.

With my things in the sink getting soaked in water, I go check up on Weiss who is still in her school clothes. It looks like she didn't even have the energy to wrap herself in the blankets. I quietly make my way over to her and throw the cloud like blankets over her body, tucking her in nicely. I hold my breath when she moans and rolls over, pulling the blanket with her. When she settles back down, I release a quick shaky breath.

The bed sinks when I sit down next to my sleeping girlfriend. "I'm sorry," I whisper. "I… I am so, so sorry."

Leaving Weiss on her for the rest of the day, I head to class. Though I really wish I hadn't gone in the first place. Luckily my best friend is here to help cure me of my boredom. We sit in the chemistry class together, the most boring, and the most fun at times, class of the day.

Professor Peach scrabbled some weird words on the board and some of us would pretend to write it down. My pencil rapped against my spiral, waiting impatiently for the bell to signal our release.

The pencil is snatched from my finger in an instant. "I'll give back to you at the end of class."

I look at my empty hand then at Blake who had taken my only good pencil away. She raises a brow changing me to take it from her, but I know better and wait until the bed rings.

Next class period is mathematics, my favorite class ( it's sarcasm by the way). Mrs. Gern gets lost in her own thoughts from time to time which is why I despise the class. To add on top of that, Russell and Dove were in here as well. The two dipshits were always making sexual gestures to other girls in the class, making them feel violated in some way. It pisses me off. Luckily Ren and Pyrrha are in this class to keep me from breaks those two eggheads skulls wide open.

I watch the two boys closely as they try hooking up with the two girls that sat in front of them. There's no telling what they are saying, but I'm sure it's nothing good.

"How was spring break?" Pyrrha asked, clearly distracting me from my glaring.

I let my body relax in the chair, no longer watching the two eggheads making fools of themselves. "It was good. Weiss came over which is always a bonus."

"Weiss came to your house?" Ren whispers. "For what reason?"

I came up with a quick lie. "She had nothing to do at home, so she came to see me."

"Did Ruby get excited when seeing her number one idol stay at her house?" Pyrrha asks.

"Excited! The girl nearly had a heart attack." I exclaim softly.

Pyrrha smiles weakly when hearing Ruby's experience with Weiss coming over. She may be able to hide from the rest of the world but I can it see as clear as day.

Pyrrha is still suffering some heartache from the breakup between her and Ruby. They stayed friends of course until Jaune came into the picture. Then they started to hang around each other less.

I think it's because it was too much for Ruby to see Pyrrha move on so quickly. It hurt my baby sis! But, I don't hold against Pyrrha though. Love is a dangerous game to play and Ruby was just dealt the wrong hand.

Ruby has kind of shut herself out of love since then. Never showing the slightest interest in getting together with someone. She's always hiding her feelings now and has gotten pretty good at it too! Though that's something a kid should be proud of.

"How are things with you and Weiss?" Pyrrha's sudden question comes out of nowhere, bringing me back to the present.

I give a small shrug. "We've… we've been under some stress lately, but we have gotten through it together, so I'd say pretty good."

"What kind of stress?" Asks Ren.

I bite the inside of my cheek, not knowing if I should tell them that Weiss has been getting flashbacks or that she's being hunted. Both can do some serious damage if either get out and about throughout the school.

"They're… personal issues that I don't have the right to share with you guys." I know Pyrrha nor Ren will push me with any more questions on the topic.

It works and they both go silent.

The next class is my favorite class. Lunch. Ren, Pyrrha and I would usually head to lunch together, but I leave them in the dust, having another destination in mind.

* * *

 **Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter. Leave some criticism if you can. Like, comment, subscribe and I'll see you guys next time! BYE!**


	24. Chapter 24

**Hello! I don't have much to say today except have a great Tuesday and I'll see you the bottom... Even though it'll be the top.**

* * *

Walking into Weiss' favorite coffee, I spot Yatsu behind the counter instead of the blue hair nerd, Neptune. He's big and built to take down a herd of rhinos.

"Yo, Yatsu!" I exclaim. "You're still working here?"

Yatsu grunts, knowing that I still tease him for being a coffee maid. It's the only answer I get from him, but every now and then I get a couple sentences.

"What do you want, the little fighter?" Yatsu asks stepping up the cashier.

Little fighter is Yatsu's nickname for me because of how short I am compared to him. In all honesty, everyone is shorter than him.

I pop my lips several times, rapping my knuckles against the table as I looked at the menu. "Can I get a medium cup of coffee with cinnamon and whip cream, please. Oh, and one or two sugar cubes as well." I say, pulling out some money and handing it to Yatsu.

He takes the money, cashed it in and begins to make the coffee. I watch from afar as he puts the bittersweet cup joe together. It's weird to see such a big and muscular man move around with ease in a small area.

Yatsu finishes by putting on a bowl-shaped lid and poking a straw through the frothy whipped cream then hands me the drink and my change. I thank him, in return, he grunts.

I walk quickly across the street to the modern living apartment. Squeeze my through the many busy workers and people living here - this isn't just an apartment for college kids you know- and step into the elevator with the same creepy boy.

"Top floor?" He asked, his finger hovering the last floor.

"Yep."

He pushes the button and the elevator jolts to life. I hold the coffee steadily in my hand. When the elevator dings to a stop, I quickly step off without thanking the boy.

Everything is the same as I had left it. I call Weiss's name and get a silent reply. The panicking feeling begins to fill my body when things seem too neat in this building.

I take several calming breaths and make my way to our room, hoping that she would be there. Opening the door and flicking on the light, Weiss is no longer in bed, her clothes on the floor.

"Weiss!" I call out again.

No answer.

Nothing tells me that she's in the bathroom, with the light off and the door wide open.

I dash out of the room back down the hall, hoping that I missed something, some clue that can tell me where she is. Rushing past the library, I spot an orange and white figure out of the corner of my eye. I stop immediately and pop my head into the library.

Weiss is sitting on a windowed bench, happily reading and wearing… my hoodie? I nearly snicker seeing how big the hoodie is on the little snowflake, Weiss could almost wear it like a dress. White cords hang from her ears, telling me that she is listening to music as she reads.

I slipped into the room, quietly and quickly making my way for to my nerdy girlfriend. She's too immersed in the book to even notice me come up next to her, not until I tap the girl on the shoulder.

Weiss pulls out her earbuds, breaking gaze from her book to look at me, wide-eyed and surprised. I smirk, gesturing to my hoodie. Weiss looks at me for a second then realizes what I mean and blushes. I caught her red handed, wearing my hoodie.

I smile and hold out the coffee. "Thought you would want something to drink.

She plucks the cup from my hand and takes a slow sip to make sure it's not too hot for her. Weiss hums in satisfactory, sets the cup on the window seal and goes back to reading, not even thanking me.

 _She must really like that book._ I thought, moving to the opposite side and sit down, waiting for her to acknowledge me again. When she doesn't within a reasonable time, I become a little annoyed.

Tapping her foot with my own, trying to get her to look at me. Weiss glances at me once for half a second then brings her gaze back to her book. This was my warning to stop. I continue to tap her foot though until she pulls her feet away. An annoyed huff escapes my lips, but I'm not giving up just yet.

I snake my way under her arms and curl up on her. Weiss simply allows it by raising her arms to let me in. My head rests against her beating heart, feeling the soft drum fill my ear. I release a relaxing sigh as I slump against Weiss. She smells of mints, books, and coffee.

"How is school?" Weiss asks.

I hum as a response.

"Interesting." She replies. "Have you talked to Blake as to why she couldn't come over?"

I shake my head. "No."

She hums and a page turns. "What time do you have to be back?"

"Well… what time is it now?"

Weiss is silent for a second as she shuffles around. "Ten minutes till one."

"I've got time." I hum.

 _Lunch doesn't end until one fifteen, so I have plenty of time to relax._ I close my eyes. _A quick nap won't kill anyone._

Weiss continues to read as I begin to doze off. Not much time passes by though when Weiss calls out my name… or so I'd thought.

"Yang!"

"Hmm." I groan.

"It's one twenty-two. You need to get to class now!"

My eyes creak open. _There is no way thirty-five minutes went by that fast. I only closed my eyes for, like, five minutes. Hell, not even that long either!_

Weiss begins to shake my shoulders, forcing me to wake up. Now there is no possible chance of falling back asleep.

I sit up and crawl off of Weiss, my back pops several times as I do. It felt good until Weiss shows me the time. One twenty-four. Holy shit, I'm late for class. And not just any class, I'm late for Goodwitch's class.

"Son of a…" Weiss' eyes grow wide waiting for me to say the word. I hold it back though. "Sorry, Weiss. Gotta go. Love Ya!" I give Weiss a quick peck on the cheek and sprint off.

By the time I get to Goodwitch's class, the lesson is halfway over. Knowing that Goodwitch will grill my ass when I walk in, I might as well barged in there like an idiot -which I did. It was funny to see all the kids she put to sleep with her boring lesson pop up like moles out of a hole. I wouldn't say 'worth it' though.-

I wave sheepishly at Goodwitch who gives me a sharp glare and tells me to wait outside for a moment. I don't argue and wait for my punishment outside. I know what happens next anyway. Goodwitch gives me a stern lecture, then threatens to kick me off campus or reports me to the headmaster's office, gives me an extra school assignment, some crap like that.

The door closes with a soft click when Goodwitch walks, an angered look on her face when seeing me nonchalantly standing in front her with my arms crossed.

"I suppose you are ready for your usual punishment, Miss Xiao-Long." She says.

Usually, I'd say yes, but I have a good excuse for her. "Actually, I have an excuse for being late."

"Oh? And is it as good as that one you and Nora shoved a hot potato down Cardin's pants, or that you and your sister nearly blew up the lab because you needed _help_ with chemistry. Maybe it's as good as that one time you gave Jaune a wedgie for flirting with you too much." Goodwitch snapped. "I've grown tired of your excuses, Miss Xiao-Long. Which is why I'm suspending you from tomorrow's boxing match."

Her words cause everything in my mind to come to a complete stop all at once. "Wh… what?"

"You'll be doing extra lessons in my class until the end of the school, understand."

My teeth grit. "That's bullshit-"

"Miss Xiao-Long!"

"You didn't hear what I had to say!"

"Suspended for two boxing matches!"

"You can't do that-"

"Three boxing matches and detention afterward!"

I'm ready to fire back, but I bite my tongue. _Don't dig a deeper hole, Yang… just talk to Ozpin afterward to see what you can do._

"Fine."

I don't wait for to invite me back in, I come in on my own. Every student has been whispering, but they go silent when we walk back in. I give all them a hard glaring, keeping their mouths shut.

Goodwitch tells me to take my seat, but I'm two steps ahead of her.

I'm already in my seat, writing a note. Goodwitch glares at me for a second or two before going back to teaching her lesson, never giving me another glance until the end of class.

When the bell and every student has felt, I fold up my note and leave it on Goodwitch's desk without saying a word.

My next class is History with Oobleck. Nora sits next to me doodling as I try my best to keep with the speedy talker. What doesn't help is that I called out in the middle of the lecture. What does help is that Oobleck gave me a full copy of notes for the next test… which is tomorrow. Peachy.

I slowly make my way to the headmaster's office. Upon arriving, the lady in the front tells me head right in.

I hear an angered voice, Goodwitch most likely, ranting to Ozpin about my little 'note'.

I straighten up, looking tall and presentable, open the doors and walk right in with pride. The walls in Ozpin's office are shelves upon shelves of books. A large clock sits behind the headmaster's large desk.

The door closes causing both Goodwitch and Ozpin to turn to me. One glaring fiercely at me and the other giving me a calm questioning look.

 _Great_. I thought.

"Miss Xiao-Long." Ozpin calls. "I heard that you were late to class today."

I nod. "Yes, sir, I was."

Ozpin hums, standing up from his chair and circles around his desk, walking up to me with his wooden black cane that matches his black suit and green scarf. "And you used Weiss' mental state as an excuse?"

I nod again.

"Would you like to explain to us in more detail, Miss Xiao-Long?"

I notice Goodwitch giving me a cold hard glare out of the corner of my eye.

"I can, sir," I say.

I may not be showing it, but I'm intimidated by the headmaster. Goodwitch looks a bit threatening as well now that I mention intimidation. With that cold glare growing by the second, I thought I could freeze up at any moment.

"Start from the beginning, please." Ozpin is well relaxed and calm, the opposite of Goodwitch right now.

I clear my throat and begin. "Okay… three weeks ago, I ran into Weiss, who needed help, and decided to help her. Well, skip a couple days, I was introducing her to my friend Blake. Then something happened and it triggered an episode or a flashback or whatever you want to call it, but something happened and she freaks out and ran off."

Ozpin raises a brow. "Do you know why?"

"Yeah… She's… Weiss had another stepdad that was very abusive towards her. He stabbed her with a broken bottle one time and now she's traumatized by the event."

"And she recently had an episode?"

"Last night, as a matter of fact, sir. I told her to stay in bed for the day because of how terrible she looked. I don't think Weiss got a full hour of sleep in last night."

Ozpin hums. He turns on his heel and walks back to his desk. Goodwitch seems more relaxed and remorseful then angered when I first walked in.

Ozpin sits down, thinking silently for a second. "Have you been keeping an eye on Miss Schnee since the episode you've encountered with her?"

I nod. "M'hmm."

Ozpin and Goodwitch look at each other, silently reading each other's thoughts. Goodwitchs turns away with a frustrated sigh, clearly showing that Ozpin won.

"Then your punishment has been terminated, Miss Xiao-Long."

I breathe a sigh of relief but hold it once again when Ozpin speaks up.

"Oh, and make you win tomorrow's match, not just for you, but for Beacon as well, Miss Xiao-Long."

I smile, now being able to relax for real this time. "Will do, sir."

Ozpin smiles and dismisses me.

Nora was kind enough to take my stuff to our last class, which is athletics or gym class or whatever you guys want to call, my favorite class of the day.

Athletes from all over the school, different ages, classes, and smarts, come to show off their skill.

And that's not even the best part! The best part is that everything is in an indoor facility which is great because you can turn to your left and go to a room to see someone do fencing or you can turn to your right and see the great Pyrrha Nikos throw a javelin. Gymnastics, weights, fencing, and boxing have their own room. Track and field get the bigger portion which why it is the first thing you see when walking in. Soccer, football, and band practice outside, unless it gets too hot.

Pyrrha is already in her track practice uniform, a hot red tank top and running shorts to match. She has practice gloves strapped to her hands and a spear in on of them.

Her instructor, coach Carolina, has a small smile her on her face as she watches the all-star athlete throw a perfect score.

"Hey, Yang!" An all too cheery voice calls out.

I turn to see Ruby running up to greet me, already in her practice gear. A Beacon t-shirt and running shorts are more of her style. Mostly because she doesn't like showing so much skin.

"Sup, Sis!" I hold a hand for a high five.

She slaps my hand with all the force she can muster. The high five leaves a small stinging feeling in my pawl.

"So what are you working today, sis?" Ruby asks.

I smirk. "Oh, you know! Just some basic stuff! Coach doesn't want me to pull a muscle."

"You better hurry or Junior might make you run laps instead," Ruby says before rushing to do some sprints.

"If I have to do them then you have to too!" I call out, before going to change.

I walk into the locker room to get dressed. Blake is standing at her locker already for gymnastics, wearing a loose shirt and athletic shorts. Black, purple and white. Her favorite colors.

"What's up, kitten!" I call. "You're looking hot today!"

"Don't let Ilia hear you saying that," Blake says calmly as I pop open my locker.

I pull off my yellow flannel and white shirt, pull on my sports bra over my regular bra then take the regular one off.

"It's too late!" Ilia yelled from the entrance. "Are you trying to steal my girl, Xiao-Long?" The chamomile asks walking up to us.

I slip off my pants and put on some spandex then my boxing shorts. "Nah! Your girl is way out of my league!"

"I don't if that is a…"

"Oh look! The animals and their tamer are here!" A feminine voice snarked.

"Look out! The blonde is into bestiality!" Another chuckled.

The three of us turn to the two voices. The malachite twins stood, both had their arms crossed and evil smirks on their faces.

My eyes narrow. "Oh, great. The malashit twins are here." I growl low enough for only Blake and Ilia to here.

"Yeah, and bitchier than ever!" Ilia mumbles.

"What do you two want?" Blake growls.

Miltiades giggles. "Ooh! The cat has claws!"

Melanie turns to her twin. "I bet she's a feisty one in bed!"

"Don't forget, Melanie, the dragon's afraid sex!"

The twins laugh at their own pathetic jokes.

Ilia takes a step forward, ready for a fight, but Blake stops her putting out an arm out.

"Don't. That's what they want." Blake mumbles. "A reactions."

Blake doesn't say a word and begins to leave. Ilia and I follow after her, leaving the Malachite twin to themselves.

"Hey, Yang! Aren't you dating that slut Schnee girl." One of them calls out.

I stop dead in my tracks, fists tightening. The air grows with tension as I try to keep my composer. Blake whispers to Ilia to leave and that she'll catch up later.

I turn to the twins with a death glare. "The hell did you just say?"

Melanie smirks. "On nothing." She says with a smug tone, waving me off. "It's just that Cardin said that you and the skinny white-haired rich whore are dating."

"Didn't she like, get abused by her dad or something?" Miltiades asks.

Her sister hums mockingly. "I think so. I bet she was all like 'Please daddy. Please don't hurt me' and he was…"

In a flash, Melanie is on the floor, nose gushing out blood and a tooth on the floor.

"You wrench!" Miltiades cries, reaching for my hair.

She doesn't get the chase to touch it, Miltiades flat on her ass with a busted nose. Both twins are clutching their injuries. I tower them, anger seething out of every pore. The twins begin to back away when I start taking steps. They stop when they hit a set of lockers, their eyes filled with terror.

"If I catch either of you saying her name or even making fun of her," I growl, fists still craving for another swing. "I will personally find the two of you. Strip you both down to your underwear, clasp your bras together and throw you out in the middle of Beacon's rush hour. Understand?"

The two nod in understanding.

"If that threat isn't good enough, I still have pictures you two having… _some fun_ with Scarlett."

The twins hug each other, gulping.

I stand up straight and walk out to boxing practice, leaving the two to cower in fear.

Beads of sweat roll down my back, stomach, and forehead. Heavy breathes puff out like smoke from a smoker. My body ached, but I can't give in now. I still had a bit of energy left.

The man in the padded gear is tired as well. Now it all depends who is mentally tough enough to push past the pain and fight for a victory.

I watch as the man's feet dance against the mat, waiting for an opening. He can't keep up with the way he's moving now. The man throws a left hook, but his movements are too slow. I spin and land a clean kick to his face, putting the man out of his misery quickly.

The match ends with a ding and Junior comes up to the ring, clapping.

"Take five, Jerrys," Junior says.

"You don't need to tell me twice." The padded man grumbles, crawling out of the ring.

Junior waves me over. I come up plop down next to the burly man. He hands me a nice cold water bottle and begins to talk about execution and pattern. I chug the water down as he speaks.

"Al is a quick on her feet, Yang, but her pattern is easy to follow." Junior states. "Don't keep your muscles too tight when you swing and put all of your-"

Momentum into one swing." I finish. "Don't worry, Junior, I got this in the bag."

The man smirks. "Okay, okay. Just make you use the roundhouse kick as a last resort. You're still a bit rusty with the fancy footwork. Okay?"

I nod before taking another swig. Junior broadens his smirk into a smile and tells me to go change, saying that I'm done for the day seeing that I have a match tomorrow. No complaining comes from me and I crawl out of the ring, heading for the locker room.

Ruby, Blake, and Ilia are waiting for me. With a quick change and repeatedly telling myself that I'll take a shower when we get to the apartment, we head out.

"Did you tell Weiss that guests are coming over?" Ruby asks.

I cringe realizing that I hadn't warned Weiss and chuckled sheepishly. "Eheheh… uh… no."

Ruby rolls her eyes, pulls out her phone with a smirk and texts Weiss real quick. I thank Rubes for helping me out.

It takes ten minutes to casually walk to the apartment building. The first floor is just as busy when I arrived.

One or two people give our ragtag group some odd looks as we walk to the elevator. The same creepy boy is standing there, waiting for us.

We all come strolling in and I tell the boy top floor. He doesn't skip a beat, the button is pushed and the elevator pulls us up. This time I thank the boy before walking off the elevator.

The elevator closes, leaving the four of us on our own.

A hum comes from the kitchen and I immediately know who is. I gesture to the little to stay put and I make my way over to the kitchen.

Peeking my head in the doorway, I see Weiss sitting on the floor, humming as Shallow pawns at her hand. The kitten's actions make Weiss giggle softly.

"I know you're there, Yang," Weiss says, keeping her gaze on the fluffy little animal. "I heard you thanking the boy on the elevator before coming in."

Now that my cover is blown, I come in and sit down next to the little princess. The kitten comes waddling up to me, trying her best not to fall over.

Shallow struggles to crawl into my lap, but she makes it in… with some help from Weiss of course. The black fuzz snuggles up against my thigh and happily lays down. Shallow's gesture puts a big smile on my face, happy to know that the little kitten trusts me so much.

Weiss scoots over next to me and lays her head against my shoulder. "Ruby told me you were bringing Blake and Ilia over."

"Yeah. They'rein the living room if you're ready to meet them." I say in a low voice, doing my best not to wake the kitten.

Weiss stands up and dusts herself off. "And Ilia is Blake's girlfriend?"

I nod, taking the sleeping fuzzy ball into my arms, stood up to walk Weiss out and introduce her to Ilia. We step out into the living room where Blake and Ilia are sharing the couch and Ruby is in a love seat, playing games on her phone. I bring Weiss around to the front for everyone to see.

"Ilia this is Weiss. Weiss this is Ilia." I say, gesturing to each other.

Ilia stood up and stick out her hand. "Nice to meet you."

Weiss gladfully takes the chameleon's hand. "It's nice to meet you as well."

They release hands but continue to talk each other into a conversation. I smile, knowing that the two are getting along well together, and take a seat to Blake.

She eyes the kitten in my arms. "I see you've found a replacement for me."

I snicker. "She's not a replacement. Even if she was, Shallow will never be as good as the original kitten."

Blake rolls her eyes, doing her best to hide a smirk.

We're silent for a minute, listening to Weiss and Ilia talk back and forth about school and hobbies. We seem to be enjoying each other's company until Weiss says something about books and Ilia's smile flatten in a second, groaning _not you too!_

Weiss is confused as to why Ilia said that until she explains to Weiss about how Blake reads all the time.

"Don't worry, Ilia." I chime. "I deal with the same issue."

"I've only read one book since we've met." Weiss whines.

A smirk tickles my lips. "Yeah! And it cuts into my cuddling time."

Weiss shakes her head, sighing in frustration. The two go back to talking to each other about school. Apparently, the two are artists. Ilia is more of a watercolor person than pencil drawing like Weiss.

"I didn't think them meeting each other would turn out this good," Blake says low for only me to here.

I raise a brow. "Why do you say that?"

The cat faunus turns to me, her amber eyes sharp. "Because her stepfather is a racist towards Faunus."

Blake didn't catch me off guard with this though. Everyone knows Jacques was an extreme racist towards people with animal traits, there is no shock there. But her wording is a bit off though.

"You mean her stepfather was a racist."

Blake shakes her head as if I didn't get. "No. Her stepfather is a racist, Yang."

I blink several times as if I didn't know what Blake was saying.

"Weiss' stepfather, Dice, is a racist towards faunus." Blake repeats.

My eyes grow wide. "How… how is he racist towards Faunus? He made a deal or something with the White Fang, Right? To fix what Jacques destroyed."

"No," Blake hisses at my ignorance. "Yang, he's acting in front of the cameras, in front of the public. But behind closed doors, he's a monster. And he's damn good at hiding it."

 _That can't be true. I've heard so many good things about Weiss new stepfather. He stood up for her when Cardin harassed her and called her names. He protected her when I couldn't._ My mind simply couldn't wrap my mind around the idea of Dice being a racist. Everyone has their negatives, but this is a big one. And it didn't make sense to me as to why he would dislike faunus.

I turn to Weiss. _She'll be crushed to hear what her stepfather really is._

"How did you find out about this?" I ask softly.

Blake sighs and beckons me to come closer. I lean in and she hands over a thick white envelope, the letter R written on it.

I swallow hard already knowing who it is. Raven must have delivered it to my dorm room, thinking that I would be there to get it. Blake got it instead.

"I looked over the envelope, but it wasn't directed to any of us. So I opened it and read first couple lines… some of the things in that letter have damning evidence that Dice does not like or care for the Faunus race."

I look over the envelope, scanning to see if there was anything that Blake had missed. Nothing screamed 'this is for Yang Xiao-Long' on it.

"So how do you know it's not for you?" I ask. "Your family used to run the White Fang, Blake."

"Because the next paper is talking directly to you." She states.

A sick feeling brews inside my stomach, flipping and twisting everything into knots. Something bigger than we'd thought is going on here.

Mom is warning me about something and I need to find what it is before things get out of hand and become too dangerous.

* * *

 **Okay, guys, I hope you all enjoyed the chapter. leave some criticism, it's always helpful. Like, comment, subscribe and I'll you guys next time! BYE!**


	25. Chapter 25

**Okay, so finals are next week and I'm going to try and get a chapter out on Tuesday before my brain turns to mosh for the next three days. I was planning on getting this story finished before the summertime, but there is no way that is going to happen. So if updates are irregular than I'll apologize right now. I'll have more news later. Right now enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

I tucked the envelope away, telling myself that I'll talk to Weiss and Ruby about its contents at the end of the week. Right now I want to focus on my sister, friends, and the big fight tomorrow night.

We decide to order pizza, Weiss is kind enough to pay for it. I'm sure the rest of us secretly cheered or breathed a sigh of relief knowing that Weiss paid for the dough with dough.

We ordered three pies. Pepperoni, cheese, and meat as well as some breadsticks, pizza isn't pizza without breadsticks. Also wings and drinks! Yeah, we pretty much ordered everything. Thank gods for Weiss.

A buffet line was set. Pizza, wings, breadsticks, and drinks. By the time we were done getting our food, a lonely pizza box sat half full of cheese pizza. Weiss seemed to be the only interested in the plain cheese pie while the rest of us munched on something with a little more taste.

"You guys ready for the big fight tomorrow?" Ruby asked.

"Oh, he… heck yeah!" I'm still getting used to watching my language around Weiss.

"I'm pretty sure the fight is going to be the same as last year's one," Ilia says before taking a bite of meaty goodness.

Blake smirks. "I don't know, Yang could lose for once."

"Hah!" Ruby laughs, quickly covering her mouth filled mushy pizza.

I giggle as well, knowing that Blake is full well joking about how I could lose. But each of us know all too well I can't lose, I'm too determined to do so.

"You going to the fight, Weiss?" Blake asks as she got off the couch to throw her paper plate away.

We all turn to the white-haired girl sitting next to me. She's been quietly sitting, nibbling on her pizza.

I know Weiss isn't much into the whole people fighting people thing, so if she decides not to come and watch me fight, I won't get offended by her choice.

Weiss sets her pizza and clears her throat. "No. Thank you for inviting me though."

"Oh, come on, Weiss!" Ruby exclaims. "Come watch Yang fight. It'll be fun!"

Weiss shakes her head, denying the offer again. Ruby opens her mouth to push Weiss into going, but a glare from me snaps her mouth shut.

"So… what are you going to do if you're not going to the fight." It's Ilia's turn to ask a question now. I guess a torch or something is being passed around to see who gets to ask Weiss a question.

Weiss shrugs. "Most likely to catch up on school work because I missed today."

Same typical Weiss. Always staying on top of things.

We talked for at least thirty minutes before Blake and Ilia said they had to leave. I show the two while Weiss and Ruby throw their trash away.

After saying goodbye to Blake and Ilia, Weiss disappears into the library room again, most likely to finish off her reading. Ruby wipes down the counters while I pack up the rest of the pizza.

"Do you think the reason why Weiss doesn't like fights is that it reminds her of her abusive stepfather?" Ruby asks as she diligently cleans the countertops.

I have had the thought cross my mind several times. Of course, I've had other thoughts cross my mind as well. _What if she doesn't like me because I'm a tomboy? What if she despises boxing? What if this? What if that?_ Questions always cross my mind. They keep me in check sometimes.

"Maybe," I thought out loud a. "Maybe she just doesn't want to be around big crowds without me there."

"But Blake, Ilia, Sun, me and all of our friends to be there." Ruby points outs.

I shake my head. "But she doesn't know any of them that well."

"She knows me pretty well."

"We still should respect her decision, Ruby. Even if we don't know the exact reason why Weiss doesn't want to come." I speak out, more declaring than I should have, quieting Ruby.

I know Ruby has good intentions for Weiss and she's only trying to help the poor girl, but Weiss is, well, Weiss. Anything could set her off and that's the one thing that concerns me the most. Without me being there to calm Weiss down, things could become a serious problem. Although I don't want Weiss to think she can only rely on me nor do I want her to think no one else is capable of handling a situation like that.

"Can you clean everything, Rubes, I'm gonna go check up on Weiss before going to bed."

Ruby hums. "M'hmm."

I leave the opened area by traveling down the dimly lit hallway. The library room has little light coming from it's opened door. Weiss must have a lamp on instead of the room light.

I walk, seeing Weiss in the same spot as she was in when I came home earlier, still reading her book. It puts a smile on my face knowing that she's enjoying the book I got her. Waltzing up and taking a seat next to the small girl. iI's a tight fit for us but we make it work, Weiss lays her head against my shoulder. "Do you mind if I don't come to the match tomorrow?"

I would love her to come see my big fight, don't get me wrong. But she doesn't want to come see two people beat the ever living hell out of each other so I'm not going to force her to come see something she doesn't want to see.

"No. But it does come on t.v. if you want to watch the fight from there." It's a suggestion that I hope will make her feel less guilty for not showing up to the fight.

Weiss hums showing she acknowledged what I said. I kiss her head before telling her that I would be turning in the towel early. She tells me she'll join me in a bit.

I've found out that _a bit_ can vary for the little snow pea. Sometimes I think Weiss isn't the best with timing, but she does her best to stay on top of things.

After taking a nice warm shower to get all the grime and sweat off, I change into some fresh clothes and hop in bed. It's impossible for me to get used to these sheets and blankets. The whole bed is like a giant cotton ball filled with the softness things in the world. This is going to come in handy after tomorrow nights.

I scoop up two or three pillows, making a little fluffy fort around me and fall asleep within minutes.

The next day goes by in the blink of an eye. The day goes by so quick that I don't remember a single thing about it except that I arrived in the locker room in a flash and am all dressed and ready for the fight. I'm so pumped that I forgot how much time is left in the day until tonight. It's a rush.

A real big rush.

Like live lightning inside my veins! Or drinking seven of your favorite drinks in one sitting (don't do that. It could kill you)! Or riding the world's fastest rollercoaster four times nonstop!

Gods, this fight always got me pumped.

A knock on the locker room grabs my attention.

 _That odd,_ I thought. _Who would be knocking on the locker room door?_

"Yang?"

The shy voice puts a smile on my smile. "You can come in, Weiss!" I call to her.

The door slowly squeaks open and closes quickly. Weiss timidly peaks around the corner to make sure no one else is here besides me. When the coast is clear she comes around the corner, sheepishly smiling as she walks up to me.

Weiss looks out of place when she surrounded by athletic stuff. She looks so small and cute and awkward. It just makes me want to squeeze her to death with one of my strong hugs.

"H… hello." Weiss waves awkwardly, a light blush coming up on her face.

She must be embarrassed by the way I am dressed. With my customized black and yellow boxing shorts with a golden Chinese golden dragon wrapping around the left leg, Xiao-Long printed on the right leg and a yellow sports bra to match, that squeezes my boobs so much that I could suffocate, my outfit doesn't cover much.

"You… you look…" Weiss clears her throat, trying not to die of embarrassment. "Good."

I smile softly, taking a step forward. "You don't look too bad yourself."

Weiss chose to wear a beautiful sundress with yellow flowers and a yellow sweater to match. The color looks nice on the lovely little lady.

Weiss tucks a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "Thanks… but I don't-"

I put a finger to her lips, cutting her off. "We talked about this, Weiss. Bigger isn't always better."

Her lips curl into a confident smile under my finger and pushes my hand away. "Yeah, but… it's not bad all the time."

My smile broadens. "Maybe not for you!"

Weiss laughs an airy laugh. "Maybe."

In the last couple of weeks, I've seen Weiss go from a shy girl who had no experience in dating, into a strong woman who became a little flirty and… somewhat outgoing. She's more willing to do things now than when I first met her.

I spin on my heel and head over to the bench to take a seat, waving Weiss over to join me. She takes a seat next to me, crosses her legs and rests her hands in her lap.

"When will you… throw down?" Weiss seems unsure of her word choice.

I snicker. "Throw down? Out of all the words you chose to use, you chose throw down!"

"I'm sorry. I don't know boxing terms or… or any of that stuff." Weiss huffs.

"I thought you were the girl who knows a bunch of random stuff," I say in a teasing manner.

"Random stuff. Not boxing." She points out.

I roll my eyes, knowing full well that I'm getting on her nerves. It's cute to see her get a little defensive over some things, I never push her too far though.

"When does your boxing match start anyway?" Weiss asks, relaxing.

"At eight. Two and a half hours from now." I reply.

Weiss hums. "Hm… and your not nervous about it?"

I smirk at her question. " I've trained my whole life for this. I'm not nerves but I sure am pumped." I exclaim, pumping a fist in the air.

Weiss giggles at my enthusiasm for the fight. Like a kid on Christmas eve, I'm excited for this night.

Weiss' cold hand rests on my thigh. "I hope you do your best."

My smirk fades into a soft smile, leaning in close to Weiss. "Maybe I can do better than my best if I had a good luck kiss before the match."

"Maybe." She whispers, her lips brushing against mine.

Then our lips lock in a deep kiss. It's a short kiss, but I'm not complaining in any way, shape, or form.

After the kiss, Weiss wishes me luck once again before leaving me on my own. Though I wished for her to stay longer, the girl had other things to do and I had a fight to focus on.

The seconds turn into minutes and the minutes turn into hours. My blood rushes through my veins when I step out of the locker and head to the octagon just down the hall.

The roaring of the crowds is nothing to me. All my focus is on one person, one goal, one thing, and that's beating Arslan Altan and keeping my title. No one else's priorities are in this. It's just me and her.

And I'm ready.

Weiss PoV

I sat at the kitchen table, pencil rapping against the wood as I mumble words out loud, reading the few sentences over and over again. The paper is simple, but I couldn't focus on the questions or the papers simple instructions.

I lean back in the chair, groaning. "I knew I shouldn't have missed class yesterday."

Yang had to be a mom and tell me to stay home. I've dealt with my episode without Yang before and I've gone to school the next day without any problems. Although I understand that she's worried about me. Guess it comes from her being the eldest sibling.

I have distracted myself from my school work once again. The lack of focus is bothersome and annoying me past the point of caring for the assignment now. Something has just been eating at me since last night. When Ruby was urging me to come and see the fight.

 _Yang said she didn't mind if I don't show up. She understands, right? She even stopped Ruby from pressuring me into going so of course she understands. Ugh! Has this really been eating my brain for the last nineteens?!_

I toss the pencil onto the table and abandon my homework to get something to eat. Leftover pizza sounds pleasing right now.

In a few short minutes, I am back with a warm slice cheese pizza and seeing that Yang drank the rest of the root beer last night I have to drink water. I read over the paper several times as I ate the slice of cheesy goodness, but I still couldn't focus on the few questions at hand. Gods, what is wrong with me?!

 _Has this boxing thing really gotten to me or am I still not feeling good?_ I thought with a blank stare. _Yang did mention that the matches come on tv… I wonder…_

I hop up from the table and make my way over to the wide flat screen tv in the living. With the push of a button, the black beast comes to life.

Sadly, Yang didn't tell me what channel the fight would be on, so I do my best to quickly flip through them. None showing any promise though.

I continue to flip through until an announcer says a blondes all too familiar name. I panic when I accidentally going past the channel and flip back to it.

The boxing match had barely started five minutes ago which meant I've only missed one round.

On one side sat Yang, her coach telling her something as she drinks some water. On the other side must be Arslan. She's a brown tanned color, platinum blonde hair and a look of determination on her face. Neither fighter from my point of view had a scratch on them. Both have formed up a small sweat but nothing to serious.

The ref walks into the middle of the octagon, telling both girls to come. The two blondes turn to each other, obliging to the refs call.

"Ready." The two boxers get into a fighting stance.

"Set… fight!" The ref back away from the two boxers, but not too far for him not to keep a close eye on them.

Yang and Arslan make circles around the ring, one waiting for the other. Like lions asserting their dominance to each other.

I hadn't realized how fast my heart raced with excitement when I was simply watching two girls make a circle around each other.

In the snap of a finger, Arslan is already across the ring swinging at Yang who puts her arms to protect her face. I gasped at the amazing speed. Like a lightning strike, I would have never seen it coming.

The attack pushes Yang back but being quick on her feet, the blonde move out of her corner to the other side of the ring. Watching the two fighter lunge and dodge, kick and punch, to block and shuffle around is like watching dance between the two. An intense dance if I might add.

Arslan swings, punching Yang in the gut. The blonde tumbled to the ground and Arslan is on her in milliseconds. All Yang can do is cover her face and wait it out … or so I'd thought.

With Arslan in mid-swing, Yang throws a quick right hook to get the girl off of her. Her fist connects with Arslan's face easily, causing the girl to reel back. Yang throws herself forward, both now rolling around trying to get the upper hand.

Yang has her legs wrapped around Arslan's neck. Arslan is trying desperately to hold the power legs back, keeping them from crushing her windpipe.

The ref blows his whistle, the fighters stop and quickly retreat to their respective sides. The coaches chatting with their fighter, trying to find an upper hand in this fight. Another round past in what felt like seconds.

 _Gods! How can anyone enjoy this? It's like watching two animals fight for their lives! It's…. It's disgusting._ It displeases me to see two strong women being pinned against each other.

So why was I so fixated on the screen? Is it because I wanted to see who came out on top? To see who is stronger, who has more determination? Is it because Yang is in this fight? Or is it another reason that I'm unaware of.

Whatever the reason is, I would have to figure it out later, another round has started.

The two fighters are at it again, this time Arslan doesn't wait to attack, she comes out swinging. Yang did her best to protect herself, few strikes landed on her body. I can already see the bruises forming on her skin in the future when the fight has passed.

Yang is being pushed back into a corner. If she gets cornered there is nothing she can do to get away from Arslan quick assault. She would just have to wait it out.

Yang ducks her head and rams her shoulder into Arslan stomach, driving her back. Arslan takes a couple swings, trying to hit Yang in the face to get her to let go. Yang slams the girl into the chain linked fence and drives her fist repeatedly into Arslan's person.

Arslan's Coach is screaming his lungs out, trying to give the poor girl his best advice. The platinum blonde has an idea of her own though, swinging her fist as hard as possible. The lucky shot connects with Yang's cheek, knocking the girl to the floor.

Yang doesn't move for a few seconds.

The announcer, the audience, the entire room grows silent in seconds. This may have been Yang Xiao-Long's first time getting knocked out. Due to how quiet the room, I'd say it is.

The people who traveled from Haven to Beacon explode in an uproar of cheers and whistles as the ref begins to count to ten. Beacon's side is still filled with shock and bafflement. They don't know how to react to such an action.

 _Get up, Yang._

The crowds begin to count with the ref, happily knowing that Arslan had finally beat Yang to the punch… no pun intended.

Yang's arm barely twitches, showing a little chance of her getting back in this fight. It's a sliver of hope, they only hope that I'm clinging to right now.

"Get up, Yang," I whisper.

It's coming down the wire. My heart is racing too fast for a normal person. Yang is conscious, everyone can see her arms moving now. She's not moving fast enough. My heart nearly explodes out of my chest!

"Get up, Yang!" I scream.

As if she heard my plea, Yang staggers to her feet, blood dripping from her busted lip.

I jump, throwing a fist in the air when seeing Yang back up and in the fight. Beacon's crowd roars like lions seeing the strong blonde back on her feet.

There is this look in her eyes, a dangerous look. Behind those eyes sat a dangerous fire, ready to burn anyone who got close.

Yang wipes the blood away with a thumb and gets into a fighting stance. Beacon's fans roar with excitement, seeing the champ back in it to win it.

Arslan doesn't seem too pleased with Yang overcoming her serious injury, but she is able to keep a level head about it. They circle around the ring, Yang struggles to stay steady on her feet. Arslan's coach sees it as a weakness and tells her to exploit it. Arslan wastes no time and charges Yang.

With the way Yang is moving now, she'll have no time to get out of the way of Arslan's charge.

 _She… she's not going to… win._ The thought is dreadful but true.

A tiny smirk curls up on Yang's lips, seeing her opposite charge her. My eyes widen, realizing what Yang has done. She set up a trap, a ploy. Fooling the crowd, the coach, and the platinum blonde into thinking she is hurt. Her plan puts a huge smile on my face.

When Arslan comes close enough, Yang spins on her heel, bringing her foot up, and kicking Arlsan in the face. The platinum blonde never saw the attack coming.

The platinum blonde falls to the mat with a thump. Beacon explodes with glee as the ref begins to count. No movement is coming from Arslanwhich means she knocked the girl unconscious.

 _With a single kick! That was amazing!_

The ref starts to count then continues to count until there is no more time and the ref begins to make some weird hand gestures. He must be calling the match and raises Yang's hand to show that she won.

Seconds after calling the match, Arslan comes to and gets on her hands and knees, struggling to her feet.

The kick must have taken a lot out of the poor girl.

Yang notices the platinum blonde struggling to get up and helps her by throwing one of Arslan's arms over her shoulder and lifting her up. Arslan says something to make Yang laugh. Yang helps her out of the ring with the support from both coaches help Arslan out.

After the fight, I turn off the t.v., knowing full well that people will want to talk to the two fighters about the match and return to the table.

I left my pizza out for so long that it became too cold to eat.

The clock says nine fifteen, Ruby should be back in a few minutes. That still gives me time to do my school without the distractions.

It doesn't take me as much energy or brain power to finish the paper as it did the last time I faced it. I finish the paper with ease and begin to pick up my mess of papers.

After putting everything back in its original spot, I head back to the master bedroom and get ready for bed. Knowing Yang, she won't be back until later tonight. Even if it is a school night, nothing will stop her from celebrating the hard-fought victory with her friends

I throw some shorts on and a t-shirt, crawl into bed, snuggling up under the covers… alone, and wipe out my phone.

Several texts light up the lock screen, all from different people. I unlock my phone and scroll through all the texts. There are a couple from the sisters and one from Winter. I open Winter's message first.

 _Hope you are adjusting to the new setting well. Please be safe and do not do anything stupid._

I smile, knowing that Winter means well. _I enjoy the new setting and I promise I won't do anything stupid._

I send the message then move to Ruby's texts.

 _Hope you were watching the match! Yang pulled through with an awesome finish!_

I can practically hear the girl's voice in the text. Even when she's not here, Ruby always seems to be cheery.

 _I saw it! Yang nearly gave me a heart attack when she went down! Glad she won!_

Next is the little sun dragon herself. _Hey, Princess! Your good luck kiss worked charms tonight! Rubes and I will be home later. Get some sleep! Good night!_

"I will," I tell myself before setting the phone aside and I fall asleep.

My eyes slowly blink open when I feel the mattress dip down due to more weight being added. A strong arm cautiously wraps itself around my now exposed stomach. Feeling the fingers glide over my skin causes me to giggle.

The hand immediately retracts and the blonde curses lowly. "Shit… Sorry for waking you, Weiss."

I roll over to face the buxom blonde, a small smile on my face. "It's fine. I can sleep better now that my cuddly dragon is here to keep me warm."

Yang giggles. "I'm glad to know that I keep the little princess warm at night."

She fluffs up the pillow before fully lying down. I wiggle over to her and rest my head on her shoulder, sighing happily. Knowing that Yang and Ruby are back home and safe, puts my nerves to rest.

Yang strokes my hair as my eyelids begin to droop. Just as I am about to fall back asleep, Yang asks me a question. "Did you watch the fight?"

I hum, too tired to give an actual response.

"Did… did you enjoy it?"

Once again, I hum.

"Good, cause next time I would want you to come and watch it in real life," Yang whispers, her words tickling my ear.

I put Yang's word into consideration. _I might go to the next fight. It just depends on where the next match is at. I'll to Yang about it in the morning. Right now, we're both pretty tired._

"Let's discuss this in the morning," I say with a yawn. "Right now I just want to fall asleep in your warmth."

Yang giggles softly. "Okay, princess."

The blonde gives me a small peck on the temple before we fall asleep together.

* * *

 **Really enjoyed writing the fight even though I utterly suck at writing. My writing skills are a work in progress. Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter! leave some criticism. Like, comment, subscribe and say a prayer for me for finals next week. Enjoy your weekend and I'll see y'all later! BYE!**


	26. Chapter 26

**Sorry, Guys! I said I would upload this on Tuesday, but I lied and unloaded it today. I've just been so super busy with studying and last minute assignments from classes before finals. ( By the way, pray for me so I don't fail.) Anyway, besides my terrible suffering, I made this chapter more lighthearted and funny... I guess because I need something funny in my life right now. Hope you guys enjoy and I'll see you guys later.**

* * *

A soft beeping sound draws me out of my sleep. The sun has barely risen, shining little sunlight in the master bedroom. It must be early in the morning still.

The beeping grows louder and more obnoxious to the ears. I try to reach over and turn off the alarm, but an annoyed blonde beats me to it. The only bad part is that Yang rolled on top of me to turn the alarm.

A squeak escapes my lips when the lazy weight of the blonde rolls on top of me. I'm lucky enough turn my head in time to have a good air flow going, so I don't accidentally suffocate.

Yang's soft bosom is mashed against my cheek, causing a flaming hot blush to cover my entire face in seconds.

The odds of getting out of this boobytrap are not in my favor. One: Because Yang is a heavy sleeper. And two: I can barely move without feeling the soft exposed skin of her chest rub against my cheek.

 _Don't look. Don't look. Don't look! Gods, please don't look!_ I'm screaming internally for some type of god to put me out of my misery. _Ugh! Stupid Gay Feelings!_

Yang mumbles something, moving at least an inch or two, causing more of the soft skin to push against my cheek.

A whine of disparity fills my throat, knowing full well that when I die I will be judged for this.

"Yang," I whispered desperately.

Nothing.

"Yang!" I'm now pleading for my life.

Again, nothing.

I call out Yang's name repeatedly for at least a minute until a new idea comes to mind. _The phone!_

The little sliver of metal and glass sat on the nightstand not far from me… or at least I think it is. I can't really see it that well. If I can reach it, then maybe I can wake Yang up or text Ruby! _I'm saved_!

I slowly bring my arm and reach for the phone, but I come up short a few centimeters though. A groan of frustration is all I can muster. Another try, I reach my arm out as best as I can. Feeling the cool metal on my fingertips sparks hope inside me… until I accidentally knock the phone onto the floor.

 _You have got to be kidding me!_

The door squawks open. It must be Ruby coming in to check on us.

"Hey, Yang! Have you seen Weiss?" The brunette asks?

I raise my hand.

"Oh! Hey, Weiss!" Ruby charms.

I frantically wave at Ruby to come help me out of the situation that I've got in. It's embarrassing for me to admit it, but I don't mind the predicament that I'm in. I think it's because I've gotten used to Yang's… assets… a bit.

If anything, this situation reminds of that one time I helped Yang out with some human anatomy and… you know what. I won't tell you what happened. It's… it's pretty embarrassing for the both of us.

"Help!" I call out to the brunette, voice a muffled mess for many reasons.

Ruby snickers when she sees the predicament I am in. "Looks like you got _booby_ trapped, Weiss."

"Oh, just be quiet and help me," I grunt.

"On it!" Ruby whips out her phone, taps the screen and puts the speaker end up to Yang's ear.

A loud cheery song comes on for a few seconds before the phone is thrown across the room.

"Stop playing that dang, darn, stinking, stupid, damn, dumb song, Ruby," Yang growls.

Ruby keeps her smile. "I will once you get your boobs out of Weiss' face."

Yang shuffles around, her bust now really pressed against my face. "What? Ruby, I don't… Ohhh… "

She had propped herself up on her elbows, her chest no longer trying to cut off my air supply. I give the busty blonde a hard glare that she shrinks away from me, sheepishly smiling.

"Hey, Weiss… How… How are you doing?"

"Peachy. Now can you please get off of me." I grunt.

"Aw, are you two not enjoying this?" Ruby asks jokingly. "Cause I am!"

Yang turns to her sister with a sharp glare. "Thanks for helping out my girlfriend and for blowing out my eardrum at the same time. Now can you please get out."

The brunette's shoulders slouch with a pout on her lips.

"Fine." She grumbles and leaves.

When the door closes with a safe click. Yang turns back to me with an apologetic look in her eyes. "I Uh… I didn't mean to roll on top you."

If I could cross my arms I would. Just so I can show how displeased I am with the blonde. Out of all the embarrassing things that have happened to me, this is the worst. I, hundred present, believe that if I didn't swivel my head then I would have suffocated.

"Sure you didn't," I say with an eye roll.

Yang's lip curls into a pout. "Ah, come on, Weiss! Don't make me beg."

"I'm not making you do anything. I'm simply pointing out the fact that you were awake enough to turn off my alarm, but you couldn't feel or hear me? How does that happen?" I burst out in protest.

Yang shrinks away, a hurtful look in her eyes. The blonde lays her head on my heart, mumbling 'I'm sorry' and 'I had a rough night.'

I didn't understand what she meant by _rough night,_ so I looked back to last night. Then it clicked for me.

The fight had slipped mind once I fell asleep last night.

Guilt swells up in my chest when I realize how mean I've been to since she woke up. I didn't give her any time to explain or defend herself.

"... You did get beat up pretty bad during the fight last night." I mumble.

My words grabbed Yang's attention. "You watched the fight?"

I nod. "Yes… I'm sorry that I couldn't come watch in real life. I… I'm just not a fan of… someone beating up another person for no real reason. I thought it would remind of that day, but the guilt of not watching was greater."

Yang hums, vibrating my chest. It feels odd, to say the least. Like when you like a character that everyone hates or your testing a new drink and you can't tell if you like it or not.

I begin to stroke Yang's soft blonde hair in a soothing manner for the both of us.

Yang sighs with contentment, tucking her arms under me. "This is nice."

We rest for a few more minutes until the alarm goes off again. I try to wiggle my way over to the side of the bed, but Yang stops me.

"Five more minutes." She groans, squeezing me.

I want to say no, but with the tough fight that Yang put up with last night and me getting angry at her, the girl deserves this.

A sigh escapes my lips. "Fine."

I know Yang is secretly cheering _yes_ and pumping her fist in the air several times in her head.

The alarm continues to blare its annoying tone as Yang and I relax in bed. The alarm soon gets the best of Yang and she gets up to shut it off. I get out of bed, but Yang stops me by falling on top of me again, her weights knocking the air out of me.

"Yang! I really have to get up and get ready for school." I say, trying my best to push the bigger girl off of blonde doesn't budge an inch though.

"Five more minutes!" She whines.

"Oh, please, Yang! I don't have five minutes to spare!" I grumble.

Yang groans and rolls over on her side of the bed, taking a big pillow into her arms to snuggle with. "Fine. Fine. I'll let you go princess."

I sit up, run my fingers through my hair for a minute and put on my glasses. Seeing Yang all snuggled in the blankets with a pillow close to her body is probably the cutest thing I've ever seen. Minus the fact that I'm jealous that Yang is cuddling with a pillow that doesn't have classes at eight in the morning. Is it bad to be jealous of an inanimate object?

I hop out of bed and head to the bathroom with a fresh pair of clothes in my hands and a soft smile on my face.

Walking into the kitchen, the scent of bacon and eggs tickle my nose. Like a slice of heaven on Earth, it smells great.

"You might wanna watch your step. Shallow is walking around here somewhere." Ruby warns, keeping her attention on the food.

As if the kitten knew we were talking about her, Shallow prances around a corner and bumps right into my legs. The kitten doesn't seem to be fazed and walks around me this time, scurrying up to her busy owner, to paw at her legs.

 _She's an interesting little creature,_ I thought with a smile.

The kitten meows several times, trying her best to get Ruby's attention. It works, but only for a second. Ruby steps over the little animal and makes her way over to the counter to dish herself some eggs.

"Would you like some eggs too, Weiss?" Ruby asks, gesturing to the pan.

I take a seat at the bar counter. "I would love some eggs, Ruby."

Within seconds, I have a plate of eggs sitting in front of me with some juicy slices of bacon alongside a glass of water. Ruby hands me a fork and I begin to dig in.

The eggs are puffy and savoring as I munch them down. But the eggs have nothing on the crunchy, mouth-watering bacon. Every now and then I take a sip of water. I'm done with breakfast in minutes and put my dishes in the sink. I thank Ruby before disappearing back into the hallway, unknowing that I am being followed by a fluffy mass.

I gather up my school stuff and straighten out the knee-high dress before leaving. A small meow catches my attention as I tie on my converse. Out of the corner of my eye, the little black cat sat, tail wiggling to and fro, waiting for me.

A smile tugs at my lips and I reach over to stroke the cat's soft fur. "Hello, Shallow."

The kitten perches herself on her hind legs and begins to paw and bat at my hand until she latches onto a finger, starting to suckle on it. A giggle rises in my throat watching the kitten try to get some milk from my finger which is impossible.

"Okay," I pull my finger away and scoop up the kitten. "I have to go to class. You stay here and keep Yang company."

I set the little fuzzy animal down close to Yang. She slowly clambers onto one of the nearby pillows close to Yang, plops down and begins to fiddle with the blonde's golden mane.

I give the kitten one more full body stroke before leaving.

"See ya, princess!" Yang calls.

"Goodbye, Yang!" I reply before shutting the door.

Ruby and I walked to class together. She simply could not stop talking about the fight last night. How Yang nearly didn't get back up and came back with the world's greatest finish. Her words, not mine.

The brunette has this twinkle in her eyes as she talks about Yang. Ruby always is fond of her sister and always cares about what the blondes input is. The sisters share a bond that I wish I had with my sister.

Winter was always gone in my younger years. She's strict and diligent in her work. Always trying to bury herself in it. That's why I never get to see her nowadays.

"So I have a question and… and if it's too personal for you than you don't have to answer, but… why didn't you come with us to watch the fight?" Ruby fumbled with her words many times before she gets her question out.

I draw my gaze to the ground, thinking about my options. _Should I tell her? Ruby is Yang's sister and I'm sure she doesn't want to be left in the dark. But it is personal information. Maybe Ruby and I can build a stronger bond over something like this,_ I thought, weighing the options in my head

Knowing that one choice will weigh more than the others, I begin to explain to Ruby why I didn't come. "I thought it would give me an episode seeing two people fight like animals in a cage… I also don't do well in crowds… an… and I'm not calling your sister an animal or anything. I'm just comparing… the two… things…"

"Oh…" Ruby says with shame.

She must feel terrible for not putting into consideration that I could have had an episode during Yang's big fight. Having them out in public is embarrassing and draws in crowds. I understand that people would like to help, but I don't need an entire army to do that.

"But how come you could watch it on tv without wigging out?" Ruby asks.

I shrug. "I don't know. I guess I fooled my mind into thinking that the fight was a cartoon or something."

"Like _Kim Possible_?"

"Yeah, something like that."

We share a giggle. I'm glad that Ruby is being light-hearted about the situation instead of babying me about it.

Ruby walks me to Goodwitch's class then says goodbye and walks off. Pyrrha is already here, sitting in her normal spot. She gives me a friendly wave as I walk by. I return the gesture with a smile and head to the back of the class.

The bell rings. School is now in session.

"You have an eight-page research paper over the world of remnant and how the great war changed it, due at the end of the month. Covering the front and back of each page will be all the information you've found. I will not take any papers later than the thirty first of April." Goodwitch announces. "These are the requirements for a passing grade."

The woman turns and begins to write down the many, _many_ , things that we need in this assignment.

I furiously write as much as I can while Goodwitch continues to explain our assignment to us.

"If you turn it in late then your grade will suffer immensely." Goodwitch states. "Now! Do any of you have a question."

Sky raises his hand.

"Yes, Mister lark."

A wicked grin is plastered on the boy's face. "Can my topic be about sex Ed instead?"

Several kids snicker at the boy's crude joke. Goodwitch doesn't take too kindly to Mister Lark's inappropriate joke and tells him that he has a twelve-page essay over spiders due by mid-April. Sky's face pales when he hears the news.

"Bu… But I could fail your class Miss Goodwitch." He protests.

"Than you better make it an amazing essay about spiders." Goodwitch smiles. "Would anyone else like to join Mister lark the spider essay?"

People avert their eyes from the teacher, hoping they won't have the fate as Sky.

"Good. Now get to work."

I've always been extraordinarily well with research papers and history is my second favorite subject. Though the teacher does get overzealous with the subject, I still enjoy it.

I pull out another blank paper and begin to write down the several ideas I have in mind. Time seems to fly by as I begin to connect my ideas together, building my paper.

The bell rings. I gather my things and head to the next class.

"I can't believe Professor Peach gave me a failing grade because I used Ren's perfectly circular pancakes as my project," Nora whines before dropping her head onto the table with a thump.

I sit next to Ruby and Nora as Professor Peach writes some equations on the board. Professor Peach writes and erases, writes and erase. She always forgets what she's doing. It's become a repetitive class if you ask me.

Students throw pencils and paper airplanes at each other, none ever getting caught. I bet if there was a fight Peach wouldn't bat an eye. The woman isn't the brightest apple of the bunch. She certainly isn't one of the most interesting teachers at Beacon.

"I think the reason why you got a bad grade is because you ate your project, Nora." Ruby points out.

"It was so delicious!" The redhead cried out causing Peach to freeze mid-writing.

Every student stops what they're doing, waiting to see if Peach will turn around. She doesn't and continues to write. All the students turn to our little group, giving us the evil eye.

I shrink in my seat seeing all the eyes on us. Nora doesn't seem to mind the attention, waving happily at all them. Ruby elbows the girl, telling her to stop.

They all turn around, going back to their own individual conversations.

I breathe a sigh of relief and glare at the two girls. "I would like to live through the rest of my school, thank you very much."

"Looks like the princess upgraded to the ice queen," Nora whispers to Ruby.

"Hey!"

Ruby shakes her head, smiling at our childish talk. "You two are going to get me killed on the day."

"I highly doubt that," I say. "Nora nearly started the second great war in a classroom."

Nora flashes the two of us an innocent smile, thinking that it will get her off the hook. Her theory is wrong of course.

"Oh, come one! We would've taken them!" Nora proclaims.

"I don't think getting into fights with the whole will go over well mine or Weiss' parents," Ruby says.

I agree with the brunette. Knowing that Dice would be completely taken off guard by the idea of me, Weiss Schnee, the shy, quiet, and somewhat a little naive at times, getting into a fight with the whole class.

I imagine the same thing with Ruby's parents and her sister, except I would get an extremely long lecture from Winter instead of getting put in a headlock by Yang or something along the lines of that.

"I don't know~," Nora says with confidence. "I can bench like five of me, you're are pretty fast, Ruby. Not to mention that your sister is the world's best MMA fighter, college wise, and Weiss is rich!"

"What's that support to mean?" I ask.

"I mean you can pay people to be on your side or sue them or something like that." Nora answers.

I shake my head. "That's what being rich is like. _With great power comes great responsibility_."

Ruby's eyes light up like stars on the darkest night. "Hey! That's a _spider-man_ quote!"

Everyone turns to us a second time when Peach freezes up. They all look like they're about to jump us in the halls when the bells ring. Nora and I turn to the brunette. The girl shrinks in her chair, gulping loudly.

The bells ring. Ruby grabs mine and Nora's hand and dashes off. Nora and I can't keep up with Ruby's speed, but we don't actually have to since she's dragging us in the wind tunnel that she's created with her inhuman speed.

She sprints up several flights of stairs before we all crashing into a flaming redhead and blond dork known as Pyrrha and Jaune. We are a messy pile of limbs on the floor. I assume bystanders are giving us questionable looks or laughing at us, doing whatever bystanders do at a time like this.

"How many times do I have to tell you, Ruby! No running in the halls! Mom and Dad don't want to hear about their innocent little rose accidentally trampling some kid to death." An all too familiar elder sister scolds.

Ruby is the first to get to up, apologizing multiple times to the pile of people as she dusts herself off then apologizing to the older girl.

Yang rolls her eyes and ruffles Ruby's hair. "Aw, calm down, Rubes! I'm only messing with you!" A broad smile covers the blonde's face as she lifts me off the floor like I was nothing then turns back to her sister, a sharp look in her eyes. "But if I find out that you made Weiss flash anyone you're going to clean our room and bathroom for the next seven years."

Ruby shrinks, gulping in fear.

I pat my skirt down and straighten up my pack. "I'm sure she didn't mean to if she did, Yang."

"She still shouldn't be running in the halls anyway. Someone could get hurt real bad." Pyrrha says, helping Jaune and Nora off the floor.

Nora, Pyrrha, and Jaune are on their feet now. Straightening themselves up before tuning into our conversation.

"Why were you running anyway?" Jaune asks.

"Nora and Ruby nearly started the second Great War in Peach's classroom," I say.

"Weiss!" They cry out in unison.

Pyrrha giggles at the three of us, causing Ruby blush. The brunette hides the red color on her face by turning away from the group. The girl still has a serious crush on the flaming redhead.

Yang snickering, seeing her sister blush. "Looks like someone still… "

The late bell rings, signifying that all of us are late to class.

Ruby quickly says bye and sprints off to her class. Jaune and Nora seem to have disappeared out of thin air as well. Leaving me with the two friendly giants.

I forget how intimating the two are together even if they both are wearing friendly smiles. They're just… so… so tall and muscular and… tall!

"So… why aren't you two rushing off to class?" My voice is squeaky as I speak.

Pyrrha smiles and answers my question willingly. "We have lunch this period."

"Oh… I guess I should go to class."

"Duh, you should! I'm pretty sure your teacher won't be happy, but you shouldn't miss class." Yang implies.

A ding comes from Pyrrha and she pulls out her phone. "Blake is waiting for us."

Yang smiles and boops me on the nose. A sheepish grin crosses my face. "See you around princess."

The two titans walk past me and down the steps, talking about something.

"Yeah," I whisper to myself. "See you around."

I walk into Oobleck's as quiet as possible, but the click of the door gave me away.

Oobleck whipped around. "Miss Schnee! Would you like to explain to the class why you're late?" The green haired man blurts from across the classroom, drawing everyone's attention to me.

My entire body stiffens up as if everyone's eyes turned me to stone Medusa. Every inch of my body feels like stone.

"I was… it's… we kind of… Ruby turned and… we all fell… and… "

I fumble and sputter with my words, trying to at least get a sentence put. None of the words ever connect though. Oobleck sees my struggle and simply tells me to sit down. Several kids snicker and giggle at my tremendous failure to give Oobleck an explanation for my tardiness. It makes my face heat up with shame and embarrassment.

I take my seat at the very top, away from everyone.

 _This class better go by quick,_ I thought, desperately hoping that it would.

I guess my hope wasn't strong enough, because what felt like thirty minutes was only five minutes. minutes was actually five. A groan of despair rises in my throat as Oobleck speedily talks about today's lesson.

I can barely keep up with the man with my coffee, now I can't keep up with him at all. He talks like Ruby runs, it's inhuman.

Instead of trying to pay attention, I pull out some notebook paper, ready to be drawn on. Several ideas have been cooped up in my mind and I've been longing to get them on paper.

With a clean slate and a sharp pencil at my fingertips ready to create a masterpiece, I begin to draw.

* * *

 **Since Summer is right around the corner, I'll be busy for the next three weeks. So if I don't upload in a reasonable time, it doesn't mean I dropped the story. it just means that I died... kidding. Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter. leave some criticism, it's always helpful. Like comment, subscribe and I will see you guys next time! BYE!**


	27. Chapter 27

**Hope you guys enjoy the chapter and I'll see you at the bottom!**

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Lunch came and went as well as the rest of my classes. To be honest, I can't remember much about the class day except for almost getting in a fight with an entire class, Nora eating her project, something about pineapples and potato pants in German and colliding with the track all-star and her dorky boyfriend. I still don't understand what Pyrrha sees in him.

Yang and Ruby are at Gym class which leaves me to walk back to the penthouse by myself, pondering over today's events. Each key part replaying in my head. I'm sucked so deep into my thoughts that I accidentally run into someone.

"The hell! Watch where you're going!" The girl snapped.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to…"

The girl's mint green eyes narrow as I try to apologize. "The hell you didn't mean too, bitch! I'm not surprised that Yang's slut is stuck in her own nasty, perverted fantasies!"

The girl looks fairly familiar to me. Her eyes are the real thing that stands out for me the most. Then realization slaps me in the face. "You're the girl that left me in the locker that one day."

"What's going on, Melanie?" Another girl with the same sharp green eyes came walking up. Her attire a red dress, opposite of the minty white dress the other girl is wearing.

"The bitch's whore just ran into me for no reason, Militia."

Oh no.

The twins.

 _Why can't I have a normal day for once? Is this my punishment for taking too many cookies from the cookie when I was younger?_

"I apologized for running into your sister." I proclaim.

Neither of the sisters looked satisfied with my apology or the fact that I pointed it out.

"We know that already." Melanie hissed. "What are you? Dense?"

"No. I'm simply stating that I apologized," I say, holding down my nerves and trying to keep the beat of my rushing heart under control.

I need to be careful with these two. I'm already on thin ice, now I don't need to fall in.

"The whore actually knows how to apologize? Yang must have trained you well." Militia scoffed.

"Stop calling me that!" I yelp. "And Yang didn't do anything to me!"

"What? Whore? I'm simply stating the truth." The minty white girl shrugs with a devilish smirk. "Whores and Bitches belong together."

Her words make my blood boil over the top. "Shut up!" I cry out. "You two know nothing about Yang or me! How can you just stand there and make false accusations about us!"

The twins scoff in unison.

"I see. Yang cut me completely out of her life. She didn't even tell you about our relationship." Militia grumbles.

Her catch me off guard and I take a step back. "Wh… what?"

Militia rolls her eyes, clearly annoyed. "You really are dense. You aren't the first girl Yang has dated."

My eyes widen. The whole time I've dated Yang, I've never thought about her past relationships. Yang said she has dated guys before, but never really had a strong connection with any of them which is how she found that she was gay. Real gay.

"Of course I'm not the first girl either and clearly that bitch is still looking for the _right one._ " Militia smirks. "And I know for a fact it's not you."

My chest tightens. The swirling emotions build up inside as I try to stand strong to defend Yang and myself. I will not show weakness. "You… You don't that!"

The minty white dressed twins eyes sharpen. "I _do_ know that! I know it better than you do because you're so blinded by the way she acts, looks, talks!" Military hisses, her face screwed up and red like a tomato. "She lies and cheats and breaks people's hearts without any consideration for their feelings! She doesn't love you in the slightest!" Her words are a venomous sting to my heart. "And with the lack body curve? It baffles me that she would date someone like you."

My heart hurts and my soul burns with pain. _Why though? Is it because her words are true? Does Yang even love me? Is it all a lie?_

The seething anger settles into a droopy sadness. "You don't know that," I mumble.

Militia is pleased with my saddened expression, but not satisfied. "I do. I mean, look at you. You're flat chested and small. You look hideous in that dress and the glasses take up half your ugly face. I honestly don't see why Yang would date you? She has done because of a dare or some dumb prank!"

"That's enough Militia." Melanie grabs her sister's arm, the other twin wrenches it away.

Tears well up in my eyes as I bite back the sob in my throat. "You don't… know that."

Militia doesn't let up and continues to verbally harass me. "Your a dumb, arrogant, naive, whore who believes in love at first sight! You think everything is going to be handed to you because your rich? I hope life will knock the shit out of you! Maybe then you'll realize!"

"What do you two think you're doing!" A muscular voice calls from afar.

We turn to the voice of the man. Sun came out of nowhere, springing up to me. The twins waste no time dashing away. Once he arrives, the twins are gone.

"Yeah! You two better stay away from her!" The monkey Faunus yells. "Assholes!"

After a minute, Sun catches his breath and turns to me with a worried gleam in his eyes. "You okay, Weiss?"

"No…" I mumble no longer fighting the tears. Instead, I let them trickle down my face, dripping to the floor.

I shuffle off, thinking that Sun wouldn't follow. But the kind boy walks close behind me anyway. Like a dog watching over his sheep, Sun kept his distance and watched over me.

Finally getting inside and away from the outside world, I head to my room, telling Sun not to follow me. The Faunus doesn't argue, knowing that I need some privacy, and sits himself down on the couch.

The fact that I let the boy follow me home and simply tell him to sit on the couch while I hide in the back room should be more alarming to me… but it's not. And I don't care.

I crawl into Yang's side of the bed, pulling a pillow close to my body. The whole side smelled like Yang. The pillows have a lemony scent to it and the sheets smelled of lilac. It smelled like her, but it isn't her.

And I need her now.

Tears flow like rivers now, fingers clenching a fist full of fabric, and the unannounced sorrow in my soul that I've let fester inside me.

"It's unfair… "I murmur. "It's unfair that no one else gets picked on or bullied for no damn reason. It's not fair!" A brutal rage hides behind the croak in my voice. "You throw everything at me! And for what! You get nothing out of it!"

The anger makes me cry harder. The cries mix with screams of frustration. I scream and scream and scream until I have nothing to scream about anymore and lay in bed, staring at the ceiling with a blank expression.

Exhaustion quickly fills my lungs and veins making my limbs feel like led. I decide to close my eyes for a minute.

I don't remember falling and I definitely don't remember someone sitting at the foot of bed waiting for me to wake up. I'm nearly sent into a panic until I quickly recognize the person to be Yang due to her golden blonde hair.

She's slumped over, head in her hands, mumbling to herself. I can hear apologies and cursing coming from the girl. Sun must have told her what happened earlier.

I sit, calling out the blonde's name. "Yang?"

She jolts when hearing her name and turns around, distraught covers her face. "Weiss." She breathes.

I shuffle across the bed and sit up next to my girlfriend, all the while Yang watches. Her eyes travel back to the floor when I settle in next to her.

Neither of us says or do anything except feel the distant tension and the sound of each others breathing.

The want -No- The need to speak sits on the tip of my tongue, the edge of my lips. My voice catches and I'm forced to swallow it down. As if the time to talk is not mine, but someone else's.

My gaze darts to Yang who seems to have no interest in me at the moment.

She looks so defeated and worn down, badges wrapped around her knuckles with little red-brown blobs of blood over each knuckle. Her hands clenched into fists, showing her clear frustration towards the twins.

"I'm sorry," Yang mumbles. "I'm sorry that I didn't tell you about… _her._ I'm sorry I dragged you into this mess. I'm sorry for not being there when you needed me the most."

I bite my lip, knowing all too well that that none of this is Yang's fault. None of it! She has her reasons not to share past dates with me. Past feeling for others that weren't true to the heart.

 _She doesn't love you in the slightest!_ Militia's raging voice echoes in my head.

Her words put a nasty thought in my head. A horrible and vile thought. _What if… What if our feelings for each other aren't true to the heart? What if Yang doesn't actually love me? What if it's all a ploy? A lie?_

The thought sickens me to the stomach. After everything, we've shared with each other and told each other? There is no way the feelings I have for Yang are a lie!

 _Are hers though?_

The real million dollar question and a sick one at that.

 _There's no way her feelings for me are fake? She's talked to me about her scar, her family, her life, fear of being top heavy! I'm being hunted down and she hasn't left me! How can she still be here with me if I have nothing to offer? I'm flat chested and small. No muscle is anywhere on my body and my glass take up my whole face!_

Is Yang's love truly a dare from her friends? Is she faking this-

A warm hand rests on my knee, pulling me from my thoughts. I turn to meet the warm and concerning gaze of Yang's lilac orbs.

"You're mumbling." She says.

Instant dread strikes me through the heart. Yang heard every word I muttered. Everything thought. Every question. It made me feel ashamed to even question Yang's love and loyalty for me.

"I understand that Militia put some ideas in your head," Yang says with tenderness. "The truth is that I love you, Weiss. And nothing is going to stop me from loving you. People will say tons of terrible things about the both of us, but all that matters is what we think of each other."

Her words make an impact on me. Yang loves me for me! She's not asking me to change or do anything for her. She's simply telling me to be me and no one else but me.

Yang pulls me into her lap, cupping my cheek, looking deep into my soul. "People get angry, Weiss. They get angry and will say whatever to make you feel unloved and unwanted." She says with the same tenderness as earlier. "But whatever they say to you is not true because it's not coming from the people who care the most about you."

I let her word sink in before wrapping my arms around Yang and burying my face in her shoulder. A pure burst of joy blooms in my chest knowing that Yang has my back.

She has me and I have her and that's all we need right now.

I lay in bed for the rest of the day while Yang pampers me by bringing me food, water, and a book as well as herself. I sat between her legs, using her as a comfortable cushion. At first, I was unsure of the idea of using Yang as such, but she motivated me to do it anyway.

Now I set against Yang, reading out loud because the blonde asked me to. Yang pays close attention to my reading and asks several questions that I try my best to answer. Sometimes Yang is left unsatisfied with my answers though and asks more questions.

"So why can't she marry him again?" Yang asks for the third.

"My goodness! Blonde have such a bad memory." I grumble before explaining to her why Charles can't Anna.

"He's the prince, soon to be married to Mary of the Silvyn Kingdom. And she is just a simple girl who is training to become the first woman to be a knight."

"And knights can't marry princes?"

"I suppose not."

"Huh. Well, that's bullcrap."

I snicker a little before continuing on my reading.

Several minutes into reading, Yang cuts me off with an interesting question. It's… it's not interesting, it's more along the lines of intriguing.

"Would you like to go to the dance with me after the Vytal festival? I know you like going to bed early and all but…"

I almost responded in a heartbeat. "Yes. Gods, yes!"

My quick answer causes Yang to chuckle wholeheartedly. "Okay, princess. I'll take you."

Yang's soft, warm lips brush against the back of my neck, causing all my hairs to stand up when a jolt of electricity zaps through my spine. A hum of satisfaction ebbs from deep in my throat, vibrating my chest.

All the anger and sadness disappear completely from me. I nearly forgot about the incident with the twins earlier today. But I'm glad I didn't because I've learned something from it. Some people will do whatever it takes to make others feel horrible and miserable about themselves. But I won't let those people get the best of me. I'll keep my head held high and my spirits higher!

Thursday comes and goes, but Friday class drone on forever though. Nothing notable happens in any of my classes except when Peach threw a marker at Nora, hitting her in the forehead. It was pretty funny to watch if you ask me.

By the time class ended, my brain had been fried to a crisp. Luckily tonight won't take much brain power anyway.

Yang, Ruby, and I walk together on the way back to the penthouse. Both red-faced and complained about their sore muscles after leaving gym class. I wanted to make a joke about it but I decided against it. I don't need sweaty girls hugging to get me all sweaty.

Once back, Yang announces that she'll be taking a shower. Ruby said she will as well, leaving me on my own.

I wonder to the kitchen to get Shallow out of her cage.

We sit on the couch together and play around for a bit. Shallow pounces on my hand several times before getting distracted by my hair. She paws and fiddles with it before crawling on top of me to get a better angle.

I giggle at the kitten's antics before she slips off my shoulder while playing with my hair. Shallow may not be the smartest being I've met but she sure is the cutest one so far. Don't tell Yang I said that.

A couple minutes later, Yang comes back with her hair in a ponytail, wearing casual clothes and a big smile on her face.

"You ready princess!" The blonde's cheer causes Shallow to jump in surprise and fall off the couch.

"Yang! You nearly scared Shallow to death!" I yelp scooping up the cat.

A quick look over the small animal tells me that she's fine just a little shaken from the fall.

"Whoops. May have gotten a little too excited." Yang sheepishly rubs the back of her head as she walks over to join me on the couch.

We wait for Ruby to join us before heading out.

Walking to the fairgrounds had nice scenery. With the birds chirping and flowers blooming, everything feels like spring now. It's a great day to go to a festival.

"Have you ever been to the Vytal festival, Weiss?" Ruby asks.

"This will be my first time going," I reply.

Yang laces her fingers into mine, smiling a toothy smile. "Then I better make your first time unforgettable!"

"With you, nothing is unforgettable."

My words make Yang's smile grow to touch each ear. "Better damn believe it!"

We turn the corner to see lines upon lines of booths, games, and food bars. Lights and banners are hanging everywhere to give the place some color. People of many different ages move to and fro, between, in and out of every booth. Kids ran around with kites or wooden swords, giggling and laughing. An enormous Ferris wheel overcasts the fairgrounds like a giant. Another smaller rides sat close to the giant metal wheel.

"How come I've never been here before?" I breathed.

"Cause you didn't have Yang Xiao-Long take you back then," Yang exclaims jabbing a thumb at herself.

She isn't wrong. I've never really had friends to hang around with before, but now I have several and am doing things that I never thought I would do. Getting out of a cramped room to go see all of the extraordinary things the city to offer is fun by yourself and all. It's better when you have someone to do it with!

"Where do you want to go first?"

I look around to see if anything catches my eye, nothing does. "Well… how about you give me the grand tour of the festival and anything intrigues me then we'll stop there."

"Sounds good."

"Mind if we join you?" A certain cat asks from behind.

We turn to see all of Yang's friends standing around waiting for an answer. Even Neptune is here to join the fun. Ruby zips off to the back, most likely to meet someone.

"Yeah!" Yang waves them to come over.

I become nervous as the group slowly forms around us and I squeeze Yang's hand. Although I do know these people I don't know them too well. And big groups of people still cause a bit of uneasiness to form in my stomach.

Everyone seems to be with their significant other. Blake with Ilia, Pyrrha with Jaune, Ren, and Nora, Sun and Neptune, Ruby and another orange haired girl with thin round glasses sitting on her nose and wearing a green sundress. She looks like the perfect girl for Ruby.

"I don't think you've met Penny before," Yang whispers in my ear after she notices me staring.

I shake my head no and I tell her that I would like too.

Yang calls the couple over. "Yo! Ruby come introduce Penny to Weiss!"

"Coming sis!" Ruby grabs the girl's, known as Penny, wrist and pulls her along until the two stop in front of us.

I blink a couple times noticing that the girl was shorter when standing farther away. Now I realize that I'm the shortest one here which makes me all the more nervous.

"Weiss this is Penny. Penny this is Weiss." Ruby gesturing to both of us with our respectful names.

"Salutations, Weiss!" Penny exclaims giving me a friendly wave.

"Hello," I say with as much enthusiasm as I can muster.

Penny seems nice, but something about her makes me somewhat uneasy. For now, I'll keep my distance until I learn more about her.

"I've heard many things about you, Weiss!" Penny proclaims.

My face loses a bit color when hearing the girls words. _What did Ruby tell her? I hope it's nothing bad or too personal. Maybe I'm just overthinking this like I always do._

"Don't worry!" Ruby butts in. "They're all good things, Weiss."

I release a breath of relief. "Thank you, Ruby."

Yang joins in as well. "Good. Now that everybody knows each other, let's get moving!" She cheers loud enough to get the whole groups attention.

The little groups cheer as well and we begin.

First, we go through all the little shops. There are several shops that Yang could have gone to, instead, she makes a beeline to a booth full of toys and picks a wooden sword that is almost as long as her arm.

I watch as my girlfriend playfully swings the sword around, yelling around being a knight of old. Than Sun jumps in with plastic nunchucks, swinging and twirling them around to look intimidating.

"Great dragon of Patch! I challenge you to a duel!" Sun says a bit of cockiness in his voice.

Yang smirk and speaks with the same cockiness. "You're on, soaring monkey of Vacuo!"

Both get into a fighting stance, ready to throw down. I know I sound like a doofus when saying throw down, but what else am I supposed to say? Tessle?... actually that is a better word to use.

I lean over to Blake who seems fixated on the match as well. "They're not going to actually fight each other, right?"

Blake shrugs which does not make me feel any better about the situation.

It's hard to look away when the two blondes charge each other weapons at the ready. They both look so serious until one of them starts to giggle. They both begin to laugh at each other, seeing how ridiculous the other looks.

"Guess They're not going to fight." Blake murmured before walking away.

The two put their toys away and go back to searching. Yang comes over drags me over to a painting booth. Several paintings of the mountains, the forest, the flowers, and the ocean cover the booth walls and sitting plastic sleeves in boxes.

"I saw this when Sun came over and thought you would like to see it," Yang says.

I smile, pleased to know that Yang thought about what I would appreciate. Seeing the beautiful artwork from a fellow artist always seems to me happier.

"Welcome!" An elderly man greets. "Can I help you ladies with anything?"

Yang shakes her head. "No. We're just looking."

The man smiles warmly. "Well if you two need anything just holler out and I'll see what I can help you with."

Before the man can walk off, I ask him something. "Did you paint these yourself?"

The man gives me a solum smile. "No… My wife did."

"Tell her she's an amazing artist," I say.

The man nods before disappearing inside the booth.

We search through several of the paintings until I stop at a mountainous out. It's sharp cliffs covered with a soft snowy white color. A shade of ice blue overcasts the snowy cliffs. It looked beautiful.

"Would you like to buy that?" Yang asks, looking over my shoulder.

"Maybe," I say. "I'll come back and buy it later."

Yang hums in agreement.

Before we leave, I ask the man to hold the picture for me, informing him that I'll be back for it later today.

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 **Short chapter, I know! Sorry! I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter! Don't forget to like, comment, subscribe and I'll you guys next time! BYE!**


	28. Chapter 28

**Why did the chapter take so long? Well, it's because I'll be at a camp where there are no electronics allowed so I decided to combine both of the chapters together, hoping that it'll satisfy y'all needs. Also, I do need a break. My brain is fried for jamming two chapters together. Anyway, hope you guys enjoy!**

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After about two hours of walking around, we regroup and head to a nearby noodle shop that Yang says it's the best place to eat in Vale. We take our seats around the noodle booth. A man with the shiniest bald head dashed around the table, slapping one-sided menus in front of us. Just as quickly as the man shows up he disappears behind a curtain that must lead to the kitchen.

Picking up the menu, I notice only four types of noodles you can order. Spicy noodles, noodle noodles, chicken pasta noodles and fish noodles. _Wait a minute. Fish noodles?!_

My nose wrinkled up in disgust, thinking about how fishy noodles would taste. _Why would anyone want something like that? It sounds unappetizing and horrible to the stomach._

Yang leans over. "What are you gonna order?"

I shrug. "I don't know. You've been here more times than I have."

Yang scoots over to give me some extra pointers on each item. "My personal favorite is the spicy noodle because they have a strong kick. Ruby says the chicken pasta is the best the noodle shop has to offer which I think is a lie. And Blake… Blake likes the fish noodles because she's… well, part cat."

"I know she's… oh… I get it." I now feel a twinge of shame for judging others for what they like to eat.

"We've been going here for so long that Blake had noodles personally customized for her needs," Yang explains. "The man was nice enough to do that for her."

the man comes back with a pad and paper, ready to take everyone's orders. One by one everybody tells him what they want, getting closer to me by the minute.

When he stands in front me, I freeze. _I haven't figured out what to order yet. Should I just tell him to come back later and make myself look like an idiot in front of everybody or…_

"She'll have the chicken pasta," Yang answers for me like a sibling ordering for their younger one because they're too shy to do it themselves. It's embarrassing, but I am thankful Yang helped me out.

The man grunts with a questioning look on his face.

"Oh, she doesn't talk much." Yang lied.

The man writes down the order and moves on to the next person. In minutes, the man is in the back already making the many, many, many strings of dough. I can hear metal clanking in the back as he works in private. The smell of chicken slithers out from the back and I get a waft of it.

It smells incredibly good and is pleasing to the nose.

"So Pyrrha! When will your next triathlon be?" Yang askes.

Pyrrha flashes her with a warm smile as usual. "Next Wednesday, though the coach may not be too pleased with the fact that I'm missing javelin for it."

"Ooooh! Is coach Carolina gonna yelling at the school athletic board." Sun piped up.

"I'm surprised the woman hasn't gotten fired yet," Neptune adds.

As the group continues to chatter, I lean over to Yang to ask a question. "Coach Carolina? Who's coach Carolina?"

A smirk creeps up on Yang's lips. "She's this crazy trainer that coaches Pyrrha. Sometimes Carolina is nice, but most of the time she's a real bit… jerk to people."

"Oh."

"Yeah. _Oh._ "

The man comes back out with several huge bowls of noodles, quickly dishes them out with lightning speed. Once he's done, the man disappears again.

The group cheers seeing the enormous bowls sit in front of them while I cower in my seat. A bowl bigger than your gut should make you tremble in fear. The thing loomed over me like a moon in the night sky.

An option of chopsticks or a fork sits at our bowl. All of us expect for Jaune use the chopsticks though.

Our group continues to chatter as we eat as much as our bellies can handle. I think the only people who truly finish are Sun, Blake, Nora, and Jaune, surprisingly.

Nora slams her hands. "I totally could beat Yang in an arm wrestling match!" She blurts out.

"Oh, yeah?" Ruby exclaims. "There is no way a small fry like you can take on the champ!"

Nora plants her elbow on the table. "Wanna bet"

"Yeah! Whoever wins pays for the other person's lunch!" Ruby cheers. "Yang get your butt over here!"

Yang takes one last gulp of her water and makes her way over to Nora, I follow. The group crowds around the two girls and I get a front-row seat.

Ren grabs both of their hands and counts them down. "3… 2… 1… Go!"

Now it's a fight over who can last the longest and who has more strength. The two grunt as each tries to overpower the other. The battle for the upper hand goes on for a few minutes, neither wavering in strength until Nora's stomach groans. Her face pales but she pushes on.

"You're looking a little green, Nora. You sure you wanna keep going?" Yang asks. She has no intention of hiding her cockiness.

Nora did look green in the cheeks, her stomach again groans in protest.

Yang exploited Nora's weakness and rammed Nora's hand against the table, winning the arm wrestling match. Nora immediately ran off after the match to find a trash can.

"I guess not everyone can hold their lunch down," Jaune mumbled.

"She'll be back," Yang says. "She has to pay for my lunch."

Ruby comes popping through the crowds and raises Yang's hand. "Alright! Who wants to face the champ!"

"How about we make things even," Blake says and pushes me forward.

"Blake!" I yelp.

"Fire versus ice!"

Ruby throws her hand in the air. "What?! That's totally unfair!"

Blake crosses her arms. "How so?"

"Because Yang will go easy on her!" Ruby whines.

"Nah!" Yang waves her sister off. "I don't go easy on anyone." She has this gleam of fun and excitement in her eyes.

I slowly make my way over to the stool as if it were the electrician chair and I am its next victim. I prop my arm and Yang claps my hand.

"You don't have to do this." The blonde mouths to me.

Yang is kind enough to let me back down, but something inside tells me to loosen up and have some fun. With a calm smile, I mouth _no_ to Yang.

Yang is surprised that I'm staying to fight. A smile creeps up on her lips when Ren comes up, claps his hand around ours and begins to count again.

"3… 2… 1… Go!"

I put all my strength into my arm and push against Yang's hand as hard as I can. Nothing happens. I go again, grunting, putting as much force as I can against her. Nothing.

There are a couple snickers and giggles as I try every possibility to move Yang's arm. Nothing works. And the toothy grin on her face makes me want to beat her even more.

 _Fine. You want to play hardball?_ I thought. _I'll play hardball._

"Looks like you're struggling there, princess." Yang snickers as I continue to try and try and try. "So you wanna throw in the… towel or… "

Tears roll down my cheeks as I continue to fight Yang's arm. I feel her defenses weaken.

Perfect.

I keep up the sad act, feeling Yang weaken her arm by the second. If there is one thing that I know about Yang it's that she can't stand seeing people cry which why I'm exploiting it like she did with Nora's hurt stomach.

"Hey. I didn't mean to sound rude or make fun of you. I was just trying to have some fun." Yang says softly reaching over to wipe my tears away.

Before she knows what hit her, I have Yang's arm pinned to the table. Yang look at me in complete bafflement, the exact look I have been hoping for.

I wipe my tears away having the biggest smile on my face. "I guess the champ just lost."

No one says a word, too shocked by my actions. I may have overdone it by messing with Yang's emotions thought. I thought it would be a good idea, but I was mistaken.

"Don't do that to me," Yang mumbled low for only me to hear. "You scared me so bad."

A pit of guilt surfaces in my stomach when I see the look on Yang's face. "I'm sorry," I mumble, drawing my gaze and fiddling with the hem of my dress. "I was just trying to… have fun."

Yang snickers. "I can see that, but you shouldn't be giving everyone a heart attack when you do."

I apologize again, but Yang waves off my apologies. "It's fine for this one time, but don't do it again. Okay?"

"Okay."

Yang smiles and raises my hand. "Ladies and gentlemen your new champion!"

The group cheers for us. For me. I feel… excited? Happy? Accepted? I feel like I'm part of Yang's group of friends. I'm no longer the little girl who asks for help whenever she gets scared. I'm no longer the girl who runs away. Now I'm the girl who stands and faces my fears not alone, but with friends.

"That was a dirty move, Schnee!" Sun called.

"Yeah," Blake chimes in. "You got all of us worried there with that move."

They continue to compliment my move until Nora comes back, now less green-faced.

"What happened? What did I miss? Did Pyrrha kick Yang's ass?" Nora continues to spit out questions that I can barely understand.

"Weiss beat Yang in an arm wrestling match," Neptune explains.

Nora eyes me in shock. "What! How!?

I'm about to give her an answer, but Yang cuts me off by reminding Nora that she has to pay for her lunch. Nora gives her a pouty face, trying to beg her way out of a bet she made. Yang doesn't though and tells her to 'pay up.'

"Does the bet apply to Weiss as well?" Nora grumbles as she pulled out a couple bucks from her pocket.

"Nah, just me."

After paying, we break into small groups to cover more ground at the park. Yang drags me to the gaming booths.

Ring toss, knocking cans down, test your strength, darts, horse race, and so on. I figured Yang would be good at testing her strength and asked if she would like to try.

"One moment. I wanna play some darts." Yang says stopping at the dart booth and hands the man a dollar.

"The bigger the balloon the smaller the points. The smaller balloon the bigger the points. Five hundred for a small prize and thousand for a big prize." The booth man explains. He sets down ten darts in front of Yang. "You have thirty seconds starting… Now!"

Yang scoops all ten darts and begins rapidly throwing them at any balloon she eyes on. She has a good aim, but she's not the best. By the time she throws the last dart her thirty seconds are up. The man quickly counts up her points.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. You're two hundred away from the big prize." The man says clicking his tongue. "So what prize would you like?"

Yang turns to and asks me what I want. There's a wide variety of little-stuffed animals to choose from, but none stick out until my eyes spot a little penguin with a crown on it.

"That one!" I say pointing at the crowned penguin.

The man grabs the little-stuffed toy off the hook and hands it to me. The little guy is about the size of my hand. We thank the man before leaving for another booth.

"Is he your Prince Charming?" Yang asks. "And did I just get replaced by a penguin?"

"No." I snort. "He's going to be my bed buddy when you're not around."

Yang pouts and wraps her arm around my neck. "But I want to be your bed buddy all the time!"

I sigh with content and pat Yang on the arm telling her to let go. This actually doesn't cause Yang to get off me, but to put her full weight on me.

My legs wobble as I try to keep the buxom blonde from causing us to crash to the ground.

"Yang." I gasp, trying to stay upright. "Get… off."

I'm relieved to feel the pressure disappear from my body and am able to stand on my own two feet. Yang gives me a quick peck on the cheek as an apology before heading over to the test your strength booth.

"Come one! Come all! Test your strength! See how tough you are!" A man calls out. He twirled his cane around as he waits and tips his hat to people who walk by.

"How much?" Yang asks.

"Two dollars!"

Yang hands the man her money, grabs the hammer and waits for the signal.

Three… two… one… he gives her a thumbs up and Yang swing with all her might. The bell rings at the top within seconds.

The man looks at Yang in astonishment as if no one was able to ring the bell before. He stumbles over his words when asking her what prize she wants.

Yang points at a big red Chinese dragon. The eyes and wings a golden color along with the spikes on its back. The man hands Yang her prize and we walk to the next game, leaving the man completely baffled.

We played a couple rounds of ring toss which Yang doesn't want to admit that I beat her at and a couple horse races before moving on to the next best thing. The Ferris wheel.

After making our way through the maze of fairground tents and booths, we finally arrive at the Ferris wheel on the other side. Luckily it's gotten late and the line isn't long.

"The dance starts at ten. So after this, we can head over to the gym." Yang informed.

I nod in agreement as we inch closer to the giant metal wheel.

It's been quite some time since I've been on a Ferris wheel. Things were much happier back in the simple days where I didn't have to worry about my body or the way people looked at me. Yes back then things were much simpler.

Once to the front, the woman tells us to watch our step as we enter our cabin. The metal creaks and groans as Yang gets in and gives me helping hand. She then pulls down the bar over our waists and gives the woman a thumbs up.

The gears under us hum to life and the wheel begins to turn, slowly pulling us to the sky.

So you know how in romance movies the Ferris wheel stops at the right angle and pauses for the longest time so the couple can kiss for five minutes. Well, that didn't happen to us.

The Ferris wheel stops above mid away so all we can see are the tents, the school and the night sky which is nowhere near as impressive as Patch's night sky, but I still enjoy the view.

"It's pretty cool isn't it," Yang says leaning over the side.

I lean over the side with her, looking down. "Yeah. It is pretty cool."

The scenery is beautiful. Everything is just too perfect with what has been going on in our lives for the past two weeks. All of it is a mess that we haven't figured out yet, but I have a feeling we will soon. For now, we're going to live the most normal life we can.

"Weiss, I need to talk to you about something," Yang says in a subtle tone.

I've never heard Yang talk in such a serious tone before, so it concerns me as to what she has to tell me.

"What is it?" I immediately want to take those words back and swallow them down.

The shaky feeling in my bones washes over me like a never-ending title wave. I sure I'll drown in fear before the talk is over.

Yang turns to me with a straight face, but there is this worried gleam in her eyes. "It's about the Malachite twins."

My gut clenches and loosens hearing the Malachite twins come out of Yang's mouth. I'm relieved at first knowing I'm not in trouble, but then again Yang did date one of those snobby brats which means I can still be in trouble for a different reason.

"I want you to know that whatever Militia told you about me is not true. We were young at the time and we both wanted something that the other simply could not give." Yang explains. "She wanted to have sex right off the bat which is the main reason why our relationship didn't last long. The other thing is that I have standards of myself and for those that I date. But while being new to the whole gay and lesbian thing, I didn't know what I was looking for… until Militia came into the picture." Yang releases a stressful sigh. A sigh that has me concerned for Yang.

"She said she would help me figure everything out, but it was a trap. A horrible lie that I fought through to escape. I trusted her. Hoping that she would help figured things out like she promised.

 _I knew it,_ I growl in my head. _I knew that girl was a liar from the begin and I should have never believed in her words._

A deep audible sigh pulls me from my thoughts. Yang slouches in her seat like she had suddenly become exhausted from talking about her past.

"I was stupid to think that she would help me." The blonde grumbled.

Now I'm not the best at comforting people, but I sure will try for Yang's sake. I slide over and scoop up one of her hands, intertwining her figures with mine.

"I'm… not… good at being there for other people." I say with honesty. It's not the best line I should have started with, but it's not the worse. "But I'm here for you, Yang. I'm here for you because you've always been there for me and it's my turn to hold you close and tell you that it's going to be okay and that you don't have to face anything alone ever again."

Yang gives me a soft smile. "Thanks, Weiss."

She squeezes my hand. I squeeze back.

The sentimental moment is ruined when the mega wheel jolts to life and pulls us towards the top again. We stop at the top and rock back and forth. I latch onto Yang's strong arm for safety and stability. My actions cause the blonde to giggle.

"Are you afraid of heights?"

"No!" I answer quickly, releasing Yang's arm soon after. "I just haven't… I haven't been this high before in a long time."

"You're totally afraid of heights!" Yang laughs.

"Am not!"I cry out. "I get in airplanes all the time!"

"Oh," A wide mischievous grin curls up on Yang's face. "So you won't freak out if I… Do this!" Yang throws her weight back and forth, rocking the cabin.

The metal bolts groan in protest to the sway of the cabin. I become scared and clutch Yang's arm, pleading for the blonde to stop. Yang does, but the cabin continues to swing. I continue to squeeze the girls arm in fear of us falling.

"Hey, hey. It's okay. It's okay. I got you, princess. I got you." Yang cooes, wrapping her arms protectively around me. She gives my hand a soft squeeze for reassurance.

The cabin comes to a stop and the woman tells us to watch our step as we exit. Yang once again gives me a hand.

In ten minutes, we all meet up again to go to the dance together. Ruby and Penny are the only ones that don't join us, so Yang asks her to take our prizes back to the penthouse and that we'll be home later tonight.

I can hear the music pounding through the walls as we draw near. It becomes so loud that the bass begins to vibrate my body and soul. Just before the entrance Sun stops us.

"Ladies and gentlemen are you ready for the best dance party of your lives!" Sun cheers.

"Oh, shut up and let us in already," Blake says bluntly.

Her comment draws out several snickers from the groups.

With Sun's little speech instantly shot down he moves out of the way to let us pass. We pour into the dance floor like a dam with open floodgates. Lights flash from every which way and the pounding music almost makes my head explode. Tons of students filled the gym floor. All chattering, but I can't understand a word they're saying do to the eardrum popping sounds over my head. I grip Yang's hand and brace myself as we make our way through the many sweaty bodies of college students.

Yang says something, but I cannot understand what it is she said. It must be directed to me because she turns around and speaks again. I see her mouth moving but her words don't reach my ears.

"What!" I yell, trying to power over the chattering sea of people.

This Yang leans in and talks directly into my ear. "Would you like a drink?"

"Yes!" I call back.

She smiles and continues to pull me through the maze of bodies. We pop out at a clear area on the floor where a set of tables are lined up, each having something different resting on them. Snacks, candy, water, punch and so on sit waiting for someone to claim them.

The only real thing that I like about the snack bar is that it's quieter than everywhere else which means my ears won't bleed because of the loud music.

Yang strolls right up to the table, plucks up a bottle of water and points at it, basically asking me if I wanted one. I nod and wave her over.

Yang complies, makes her way over and hands me the warm bottle of plastic. I pop the lid open and down half the drink in one sitting. The water by not be cold but it refreshing for my body.

The music fades away, pulling everybody's attention to the DJ. The middle-aged man comes onto the speakers. "Alright everybody we've got ourselves at dance off!"

The large group begins to cheer and form a circle around two people. I'm too short to tell who it is though so I ask Yang.

She has to get on her tiptoes to see who it is. "I think it's Sun and Neptune versus two girls. I don't know who the girls are tough." Yang says, falling back on her heels.

"Let's get this show on the road!" The DJ cheers. He fidgets with his computer and a heavy beat comes thumping out of the speakers.

Being the short person of the group, I quickly lose interest in the dance off and take a seat. Yang joins me for the same reason I suppose.

"It's no fun watching the back of people's heads so I'm going to do something that I do enjoy." Yang plops down next to me. "And that's talking to my favorite girl!"

She playfully squeezes my knee causing a funny jolt to shoot up my leg making me jump.

Yang giggles. "Someone's a little jumpy."

"Yeah," I reply with as little sarcasm as possible. "I wonder why?"

"Okay, okay." Yang leans back in her chair, happy and relaxed.

The music changes to a more upbeat toon and the crowds oohs and ahs as the dance battle continues. It's boring when you can't tell what is going on over the other side of the crowd.

I can hear smack talking the other dancers, but it's nothing I should be concerned with. Sun can handle himself anyway.

"After the dance, would you like to get some ice cream or am I pushing your bedtime?" Yang cocks a brow in a teasing manner.

"I would love some ice cream," I say

"Great! I know an awesome ice cream shop not too far from the fairgrounds." Yang exclaims.

Over the span of fifteen minutes, the music has changed six times until the crowd of people disperses in their own direction. I don't know who won, but I can think of an educated guess. Though yang has told me several times that Neptune can't dance, I'm sure Sun did enough to carry them to victory.

The room is once again filled with loud noise and chatter. Yang says they call it a dance, but it's more of a get together if you ask her. The music slowly fades into a slow song causing everyone to stop their chatter and hook up with a partner.

Yang scoops up my hands and pulls me to my feet. "I love this song."

We weave between people, making our way to the middle of the dance floor. She grabs me by the waist and cups her hand around mine. I rest my hand on her shoulder and we begin to sway to the rhythm of the music.

"I've always wanted to dance with the most beautiful girl in the world," Yang says softly.

I smirk. "I think it's impossible to dance with yourself, Yang."

Yang chuckles. "No, no. Not me. The girl that I'm talking about has the most gorgeous shade of blue in her eyes and hair that finer than the softest silk and shinier than snow on a sunny day. She has skin softer than clouds and smoother than butter. Her lips nice and delicate to the touch. And most importantly she's my little princess."

Yang's words cause my heart to skip a beat or two. She described me so elegantly and with words that are pleasant for the ears to hear. There are charming enough to make my heart flutter like a hummingbird's wings.

"You're really good at expressing yourself through words instead of actions," I say.

A pleasing smile crosses Yang's face. "Sometimes actions are not always the best thing to use in some situations." Yang dips her head low. "But if I could show how much I truly love you I would in a heartbeat. I would shower you with kisses and pamper you with hugs all day. And when the night colder I'll hold you close."

I squeeze Yang's shoulder ever so slightly. "You sound so romantic."

"And that's won't even be the best part!" Yang chuckles. "I would…"

Something eye-catching causes Yang to stop mid-sentence. Her happy smile and attitude fall into an annoyed expression.

She pulls me from the dance and sits me down, saying that she'll be right back and to not worry. Before she walks off, I grab her firmly by the wrist.

"Where are you going?" I try my best to hide the worry in my voice.

She looked at me firmly. "Qrow is back. He wants to talk to me about…" the words catch in her throat. "Something important. I'll share as much information as I can when I get back."

I nod in understanding. "Okay, just… don't take too long."

She gives that good ol' Yang Xiao-Long smile. "I won't."

Yang's hand slips out of my grasp and she disappears into the sea of people.

"She's coming back." I murmur to myself. "She's coming back."

The minutes ticked by and still no Yang. Ten, fifteen, to almost thirty minutes past and still not Yang. I became worried that Yang forgot about me or worse she could have left me on my own.

I become a bit skittish in my seat when I realize how lonely I am in an enormous crowd of people. The want and need to get up dash out the door scratches at me. My legs wiggle as my mind becomes a swirling spiral of endless reasons why Yang left me here. I'm so deep in thought that I hardly notice someone standing in front of me.

"Weiss Schnee, right?"

I flinch when hearing his gruff voice.

"Y… yes that's me," I say trying to keep my composer.

The young boy nods a couple times and pulls out his phone. "I'm sorry you had to find out this way."

He flips the phone around to show me its contents. My eyes widened and a gasp of fear escapes my lips. It's a picture of Yang and another girl with dark amber colored hair, both holding each other close and kissing.

"I was… out walking through the halls to get some fresh air when I accidentally crossed these two making out."

I barely heard a word he said. The sickening feeling in my stomach boiled and broad, eating away at my gut. I feel light headed when I got to my feet, struggling to stay upright. My vision becomes blurry for some odd reason… then I realize tears swelled up my eyes because of how much my body, my heart mostly, ached for it not to be true.

I make over to the nearest exit, throw open the doors and make a mad dash for home. Tears now falling down my face.

Yang' PoV.

"You better make this quick Qrow. Weiss is waiting for me and I don't exactly feel okay with leaving Weiss by herself for a long time." My voice cross.

Qrow shoved his hands in his pocket. "Then I'll try to shorten down the information."

"Why didn't you text me like you've been doing or, better yet, call me?" I ask harshly. "Then we could have avoided this whole thing."

Qrow's expression becomes grim. "Because, not only are you being watched by us, but you're also being watched by other people too."

His words aren't really all that shocking. Weiss and I have been told that we are being spied on by two different teams. The good team and the bad team.

"Which means?"

"They could easily hack into your phone just like they did with Cardin's phone. They're framing other people for their own actions." Qrow points out.

"And how do you know nobody is listening to us right now?" I ask.

"It's a gamble I'm taking," Qrow says. "But I'm sure these guys are smart enough to stay away from school outings. Too many people."

"If these people are afraid of getting close to big crowds then take us away from school property in the first place?"

At first, I thought it would be cool to stay in a penthouse, but now I'm not so sure of it due to how unsafe it is.

"Because everyone in that building is an undercover agent."

I cock a brow in disgust. "Even the creepy elevator boy?"

Qrow nods.

"I think you should fire that guy. He's a pervert."

"Yang!" Qrow snaps. "I need to you to focus."

My expression turns sour, but I keep my mouth shut. Gods know I need to.

"We've gotten some important information from our double agent, Gean, saying that Dice is throwing a charity and they're going to make the exchange of one life for another. What Dice doesn't know though is that his son is dead and has been dead since the accident years ago."

 _The exchange of a life for another? Is he going to… Oh, my gods!_

"He's going to trade Weiss for a dead Will." It's not a question. Even if it was I can see the answer all over Qrow face.

He runs a hand through his hair, sighing deeply. "Or worse."

I never dreaded silence so much in my life. It's bone-chilling, sending every possible thought of what _worse_ can mean for the princess.

"We've been speculating that these people plan on trading Weiss for Dice's son."

"And when he finds out that they don't have his son?" I ask.

Qrow's eyes become sharp. "They'll use her as a bargaining chip…"

"And use her to get whatever they want."

Qrow nods again.

At first, I thought this would be a simple kidnapping. A simple snatch em up and run thing, but this is much worse than I had ever imagined. And to put everything on top of that, Raven was behind all of this. Her name hasn't been used in this conversation at all which raises some questions.

"So what does this have to do with-"

"-Raven?"

My lips press into a thin line, waiting for him to answer. I craved one since the USB drive Ruby gave me.

"Yeah… Raven."

Qrow rubs his neck then shrugs his shoulder. "I'm not sure, Yang. Earlier this week her gang was completely wiped from the street of Remnant. Nobody has seen her or her gang. We've questioned rival gangs and local bars. We came out with nothing… she's hiding something and it must be big if she causes all of her gang members to go into hiding."

"Something isn't right with this situation." I murmur cupping my chin. "What does the white fang and Raven have to do with these secret people who plan on using Weiss as a bargaining chip and what would they get out of it?"

"We're still trying to figure that part out." Qrow states. "And remember these are only concepts and guesses. We are still uncertain of what these people's real plans are?"

I hum. "Hmm… is there anything else that I need to know about?"

Qrow pushes his gaze to the sky, thinking for a moment. "Uh… nope, but I'll keep you updated if anything does."

I nod, thanking the old man before walking back to the gym floor. One question crosses my mind as I walk back. _How did Qrow get in here without security stopping him?_

Coming up to the dance floor, music blared louder than, students cheered and clapped for no reason. Maybe to keep themselves hyped about something.

I snake my way through the sweaty bodies of short and tall, young and… younger until I pop out of the other side. Dusting myself, I head straight for…

Weiss is no longer sitting in the chair or anywhere near the area that I left her in. That's when I spot Sun's yellow banana tail out of the corner of my eye and I stride right up to him. Tapping his shoulder, the monkey spins around with a cup a of punch to his lips.

"Where is Weiss?"

He shrugs and removes the cup from his lips. "The last I saw her she was talking with some guy."

"What!?"

Weiss never openly talks to anyone or at least not to my knowledge. She's a shy fragile girl at times and her anxiety with unknown people cause problems for herself.

"Woah! Hold your horse's dragon!" Sun throws his hands up in defense. "The guy is right over there if you want to talk to him."

He points to a small group of guys not far from where Weiss had been sitting. I waste no time thanking Sun, I only follow the finger to the man.

I pull a guy away to get the groups of attention. They seem a bit confused as to why I yanked a person from their ranks, mumbling and murmuring.

"Which one of you talked to Weiss!" I growl.

They all snap their mouths shut, showing how willing they want to talk… until one brave soul raises his shaky little hand.

He swallows in fear. "Mackey did."

"Shut the hell up, Bow!" A slender black haired boy barks.

I release my victim and stomp over to the toothpick, grab him by the collar and yank him down to eye level. "Alright, you son of a bitch. Where is Weiss?!"

"I… I don't… know." Mackey whimpers. "I showed her a picture and she got all teary-eyed and ran."

"What kind of picture?" I growl, my grip tightening on his collar.

The boy fish's out his phone and fiddles with it for a moment before turning the towards me.

My eyes narrow in anger and hate. "Where the hell did you get this picture?"

The boy jumps, nearly dropping his phone. "A boy with blue-grey hair asked for my number then texted me the picture saying if I showed it to Weiss then I would get two hundred bucks."

"Did you get your money?"

"Well… no."

"Because you trusted a grade A asshole who doesn't give a shit about other people." I shove the boy away and stomp off.

Walking past Sun, I tell him I'm heading home. He said he would tell the others. Again I didn't thank him.

Rushing back to the penthouse, I begin to wonder why Sky would want to Weiss that picture. _Maybe he's trying to get even with us because we got Cardin kicked out of Beacon… or something along those lines. Maybe Cardin told him to do it because the gods know that Sky is dumber than a box of rocks._

I waited by the elevator, mashing the top floor button repeatedly until the giant metal box dinged.

"Good evening Miss Xiao…"

"Yeah, good evening." I cut the boy off. "Take me up quickly."

The boy doesn't seem too pleased with my annoyed attitude, but he does what he's told. Once the elevator dings to a stop, I hop out and rush to the back room.

Throwing open the library door, I call out Weiss' name. "Weiss!"

None of the lights are on. No books out of place. Nothing tells me that she is here which means she isn't here. _No dip, Yang._

I exit the room, heading for our room next.

I knock a couple of times before entering, calling out Weiss' name and informing her that I'm coming in. No one answers back and I enter. Cleary she's been in here. Her clothes on the floor and the bathroom light being on tells the story for you.

I slowly push open the door calling out to Weiss as softly as I can. A sort gasp and the rustling of water causes me to freeze.

 _She's in the bath! Of course, she's in the bath! Weiss loves baths after a stressful day of school! She's totally going to freak!_ My face has a light shade of pink on its cheeks.

"I'm coming in."

I wait for a moment to hear an objection. When there is none, I slowly make my in. Weiss, on the opposite side of the bathroom, sits in a nice warm bubble bath, chin barely above water. The one thing that catches my eye is how red and puffy her eyes are.

"I… uh… " Gods, she looks cute.

I swallow hard and speak up. "Hey."

Shutting the door to give us some privacy, I make my way over to the tub. Weiss shrinks into the water, wanting to hide. I notice this action and immediately back up a little.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to."

"You didn't mean to?" Weiss hisses.

Starting out on offense. Got it.

"Which part did you not mean. To tell me that you didn't love me in the slightest? Or that you cheated on me?"

Her words are like a needle that just thrust itself into my heart.

"Weiss, you don't understand," I say pleadingly. "It was a long time ago."

"Approximately an hour ago." Weiss snaps.

"Let me explain."

"Let me explain this. Let me explain that. You always seem to be able to explain everything without failure." She growls

My chest sucks in tight. I try to breathe but it's no use. I've never seen Weiss act so harsh and it's painful to endure.

"To make things is that you lied to me, Yang. I actually thought you'd love me for me… but you don't." Weiss sunk back down into the water. "You didn't care at all."

I grit teeth. Something… something about her words set ablaze in my heart. "Just listen." I snap.

"Oh, I've listened to you quite enough… and I'm done with it."

"No. You haven't listened in the slightest at all!" A growl escapes my throat. "I've worked my ass off to please you, to do everything for you. And you say I didn't care! Fucking bullshit!"

The need to check my language for Weiss' sake is out the window. Right now I'm angry and I'm going to express it.

"If you could be patient with me like I've been with you then maybe I would have told that the girl in the picture was my first girlfriend and that she's dead, but you don't care. As long as it's all about you, the _Weiss Schnee!_ Then you don't give a damn about other people's feelings. You don't give a damn about anything!"

I finish my little rant, but the rage inside is steaming hot and my body simply couldn't get enough of it out. It almost felt like smoke is coming out of my ears by the gallons and it shows no intention of slowing down.

Weiss mumbled something that I nearly missed. _Get out._

Her anger, upset, and worst of all heartbroken. Her teary-eyed face blew all the hot-headedness away like it was nothing. I instantly feel guilty for my actions.

"Get. Out." She's more stern with her words.

"Fine," I grumble. "I don't want to be here anyway."

The door to the bathroom closes and the tears begin to flow on both sides.

* * *

 **Sorry for the long wait. Hope you guys can be patient with me for the next two weeks. Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter. Leave some criticism, I don't mind it at all! Don't forget to like, comment, subscribe, and I'll see you next time! BYE!**


	29. Chapter 29

**So I'm back and ready to roll out the chapters. I'm not going anywhere else for the rest of the summer which means the chapters will be more frequent than in the last couple of weeks. If something does come up, I'll make sure y'all. For now enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

"What!" Ruby cried.

It's been weeks since Weiss and I had our little-screaming match and we decided that we needed some space from each other. I'm hoping we can figure something out and get to actually talk again instead of saying one sentence to each other in the mornings and then go about our day as we don't know the other.

I didn't realize how we both were at the moment until I blew up like a landmine. Weiss was unaware of the dangerous game of emotions she was playing. We've both hurt each other and we both are at fault here, but I think I take the higher percentage for how harsh and hot-headed I was toward the girl. I was a complete jerk to her. Weiss has never been in a relationship before which makes it harder for her to understand how a relationship works and for me to blow up in her was a bit uncalled for.

It's just… It's hard for someone to talk about a past relationship, especially if it was a special one to them and it ended with someone actually losing their life. I am not ready to tell the whole story to tell Weiss about me and Amber. It's too much for me to handle right now.

Amber's death didn't happen recently, but it doesn't discourage me to talk about it nonetheless.

"Yeah, we got in a fight," I explain to my baby sister. Sometimes she can be oblivious to things.

Blake turns to me. "I've been meaning to ask what was wrong with you. You seemed really angry about something, then you dipped into this sad and depressing side that I've only seen once."

"The fight doesn't sound too bad." Ilia chimes in. "People get mad all the time for stuff like that, so I'm sure you two will figure something out."

"I hope we can. Seeing her be all mopy around the apartment makes me feel terrible on the inside." I say, my shoulders slumping a little.

"So… you and Weiss are on a break," Ruby asks.

I nod. "Yeah… I think the reason why we both are taking this fight too hard is that we've grown too attached to each other. So we agreed to some personal space… in a silent way."

Ruby hums and slides back into her seat.

We've decided that we would do some shopping along with some fresh air. A girls day out on the town kind of thing. Ilia and Blake thought of the idea and asked if Weiss and I would like to go. Of course, it was before they knew about the fight so I asked if Ruby could come instead.

Now we are all in Blake's car, heading to Vale's mall. A three-story building with all the coolest things and hottest clothes in the world. It saddens me to know that Weiss would enjoy shopping.

My dull expression slumps into a sad frown.

Blake, of course, notices and speaks up. "Don't worry, Yang. Relationships aren't perfect. You two will fight every now and then. And you two will hurt each other's feelings, but in the end, you two will always come back to each other."

I mull over Blake's words for a moment. "Yeah," I mumble. "But Weiss doesn't know that."

We pull up the bustling building full of wonder. I've only been to this mall twice because everything is a bit overpriced for my budget. So my policy is if I really want it then I need to find a good use for it.

"So what is our plan of attack?" Ruby asked, hopping out of the car.

Blake locks up her vehicle since Ruby is the last one. "We'll start from the bottom and work our way up."

"And if we split up than we meet at the food court," Ilia adds. "I know a pretty good Chinese restaurant."

We all nod in agreement and begin our adventure by heading to the nearest clothing store which happens to be Ruby's store in the whole world. Hot topic.

"YAY!" The red head cheers dashing inside.

"Ruby, don't-oh, for the love of… Ruby!" I try my best to keep the girl under control, but she's already lost. Ruby's busy running her hands across all the hung up t-shirts and fiddling with stuff. "You guys wouldn't mind helping, would you?"

Ilia snickers at my sister's antics as she begins to call me over to look at something, waving her arm frantically. "Blake and I were planning going dress shopping since Weiss' charity is coming up soon, but we can stay and…"

"Oh, crap!" I gasp. "I almost forgot about the charity! You guys go dress shopping, I'll watch after Ruby."

Blake and Ilia glance at each other for a quick second then look back at me.

"Are you sure you don't want us to stay?" Blake asks.

"I'll be fine," I say waving them off. "Besides, being with my baby sis might be able to help distance myself with what's been going on."

"Okay…" I can hear the questioning tone in Blake's voice from a mile away. "Well if you need any help at all don't be afraid to call or text us."

A smirk plays across my face. "Oh, I'll totally be fine."

"Yang, come check this out!" Ruby cries out. The redhead's calls and cries make the two Faunus laugh.

They wish me luck before we depart and go our separate ways. I turn to see Ruby bouncing up and down with a several goth like t-shirts in her arms and a twinkle her eyes.

My shoulders slump in defeat. "I'm getting too old for stuff like this."

It felt like hours before I finally dragged Ruby out of hot topic. She whines and complained about how I didn't buy her the four million shirts she wanted. I told her we would be broke if I did. She replied saying that she would look like a pretty but broke, person. I guess I can't argue with that.

"Do you have a dress for Weiss' charity?" I ask as we ride the escalator up.

Ruby responds with an annoyed groan. "Ugh! No!"

"Well, you better find one or you'll be staying at the hotel," I say, stepping off the moving stairs. "I'm not going to let you go in pants and a shirt."

Ruby grumbles and sticks her tongue out at me. I grab her by the arm and pull her along.

"Come on. I know the perfect place to get a dress." I state. "Then we can go get a cookie or some ice cream."

This lightens Ruby's spirits and she practically dashed off, nearly ripping my arm out of my socket, to the dress store, leaving me in the dust.

"Yep. Definitely getting too old for this."

I make my way over to the dress store to find Rubes. It won't be hard for spotting her. What will be hard though, is finding a dress that she'll like and actually wear not just one time.

Ruby stands at the front entrance, ready to scout out a dress. Though the twinkle in her eyes from early doesn't show, You can still see the enthusiasm in her. Most likely because she just wants ice cream or to get this over with.

"What kind of dress am I looking for?" Ruby asks.

"The good kind," I say strolling past her. "Something that's your style, isn't too expensive, and beautiful."

"Something red!" Ruby chimes, coming up next to me. "And Black."

We head to the very back where some of the dresses are on clearance or have a discount. Most of the dresses are too foofy or all daisies and rainbows which are too colorful for Rubes. Our search seems fruitless until we run into a special someone. With her rocking shades, long brown hair was thrown into a bun, minus the strand that hangs next to her face, a simple t-shirt with its long sleeves a golden brown color, jean shorts and tennis shoes, it's easy to mistake the Coco Adel as a casual shopper. Not for me though.

I stroll right up to her with a smile on my face. "Is the Cocoa Adel really shopping at some low-end dress shop?"

"Is the Yang Xiao-Long really dumb enough to walk up to me in public and talk to me like a low fashion senses human being such as herself?" She asks, lowering her shades.

"Yes."

I receive a chuckle from the fashionista. "You haven't changed one damn bit, have you?"

"Nope!"

We give each other a firm shake with a big grin on our faces. We haven't seen each other since last year, so what are the odds of running into each other here? Low. Like not on the chart low.

"So have been up to?" Cocoa asks.

I shrug. "Eh. Keeping up my title, hanging out with friends, going to school, dating a girl, and having fun."

"Oooh, a girl." Cocoa wiggles her eyebrows suggestively. "Do tell."

It takes me second to think if I should tell Cocoa about my relationship with Weiss Schnee.

"Well… it's a bit up in the air right now, but… I'm kind of dating Weiss." I seem a little unsure of my word choice, but I don't know what else to say.

Cocoa turns to me, her eyes a piercing gaze, lips a thin line. "What did you do?"

Her harassing tone causes me to flinch. Cocoa is a chill person and all, but when she gets mad. Boy, you better be prepared.

"So, I told you about our relationship is up in the air right. Well, we kind of got in an argument and we both said some things that probably shouldn't have been said." I suck in a big breath. "So now we are spending some time away from each other until things simmer down."

"Kay. Why did you throw a hissy fit it the first place." Cocoa demands. "I know Weiss. She's a delicate snowflake that doesn't need to be melted by your hot temper." She explains. "What were you two arguing about anyway?"

I swallow hard. "Amber…"

Cocoa sour expression loosens. "Oh."

She knows what happened to Amber. All of my friends know about her except for Weiss.

Cocoa Let's a beautiful sight. "I know you're still having trouble with talking about Amber; she meant a lot to you, but Weiss doesn't know that. So yelling at her isn't going to solve anything. Weiss is a sensitive soul and should be protected."

I mull over her words. "You sound like you know a lot about Weiss."

"We used to be roommates."

I blink several times in surprise. "You two used to be roommates!?"

"Yeah," Cocoa begin to explain to me how she became roommates with Weiss. "We had so many seniors that year and there weren't enough rooms. So some of us were moved to half-filled rooms. I was lucky enough to have Weiss as a roommate and some petty bitch who parties every night. Then she begins to snicker. "I never thought she would hook up with you though."

"Yeah, I'm surprised too." I sigh with content. "And I'm glad we work well together."

Cocoa smiles. "You're not out of the fire just yet, Xiao-Long."

She's right. I'm nowhere near out of the fire. If anything, I'm right in the middle of it. There's so much I need to do to make it up for being a complete ass to Weiss.

 _There must be something I can do to make better._ I search through my memory to see if there is something I can do to make it up to Weiss. _What can I do to… that's perfect!_

"Cocoa!" I grab Cocoa by shoulders. "I need you to help my sister find a dress! I gotta go do something important!"

I push off of Cocoa and dash out of the store, leaving the fashionista to take of my sister. Right now I have more important things to take care of.

Weiss' PoV

Two weeks. Two weeks of terrible sleep. Two weeks of terrible school. Two weeks of terrible everything… and it's all because I couldn't keep my fat mouth shut.

Now.

Now I don't know if we're still dating or not. Is it normal for couples not to agree on something, to yell at each other, to say things that they didn't mean to say? Everything's a mess now.

I don't know what to do except to sit in bed and feel rotten on the inside. Because of my actions, my grades have dropped and my health has suffered bit by bit. Every morning I've looked worse and worse, just to cover my baggy eyes and a pale face with as much makeup as possible. Every night I lay in bed crying until I'm too tired to keep my eyes open. And every day I try to stay away from Yang for fear of her saying something to me. Something that I would not want to hear.

I've laid in bed since four. Everybody has gone to hang out with their friends and I'm here by myself. No friends. No aquatints. Nothing. I'm back to square one with nothing.

The charity crosses my mind and with what has happened I don't know if Yang would want to go anymore.

 _Would she want to go as friends or would that be much for me to handle? It's still a fresh wound and I don't need to make it worse by having her come… if she doesn't want to that is._

I feel like I've had an addiction and I'm trying to come off of it for the last two weeks. So far it sucks. I need Yang now more than ever. I need to be wrapped in her arms to feel safe. I need her like an addict needs their weekly fix.

A knock sends me scrambling under the covers. I pray to the gods that's it's not Yang.

"Weiss!?"

Gods, I should have prayed harder. The door squeaks open and Yang steps in. I'm not mentally or physically prepared for what Yang has to say.

"Weiss?" She whispers loudly.

"No, please… go away. Go away. Please leave me alone." I mumble repeatedly. "Please go away."

A warm pad presses against my thigh and I stop breathing. As if Yang's unforgettable touch cut off my air supply. The warm pad travels upward and I begin to panic when it reaches my side.

The scar begins to emit a slow burning pain. My body begins to tremble from the pain. I realize that I'm going to have the worst panic attack to date if I don't keep my emotions in check.

"Weiss?" Yang uses a soft voice that's gentle to the ears. "I got something for you."

"Go away." A Pitiful whimper escapes my throat.

The cover begins to move, sliding down my body, stopping at my legs. I cringe as Yang slides in next to me. My first instinct is to curl up into a ball and ignore her until she leaves, but something stops. Something ice cold and dripping wet.

"I did all this hard work to get you your favorite milkshake and you're telling me to go away?" She sounds conflicted.

I begin to nod my head, but Yang's words from the argument ring in my ears. _I've worked my ass off to please you._

There is no need to make the same mistake twice and I slowly begin to sit up. Yang is patient enough to let me get in a comfortable position then hands me the shake.

The frothy creamy touch on my tongue is able to put a small smile on my lips. It tastes so good. I viciously suckle on the straw until there is nothing else to suckle on.

"You sure sucked that down quick." Yang chuckled. "When was the last time you've eaten?"

The straw pops out of my lips and I hand the empty cup back to Yang. I don't remember the last I've eaten real food, other than the junk food and coffee, I can't recall the last real meal I've had. So my best option is to shrug which I do.

Yang looks at me in shock and disappointment. "Weiss, you can't be doing stuff like that to yourself."

She sounds like a mother scolding her child. I feel ashamed and embarrassed for not being able to function like a normal person after Yang left for two weeks. How am I supposed to function if she leaves and never comes back?

The thought sickens me a little. It causes an uprising of questions in my head. _Why is Yang here? What does she want? Is she going to tell me the truth? Gods, I feel sick_.

"Woah. Woah! Weissicle! Calm down. Don't get too worked up." Yang says. "Also you're mumbling."

I whine out of embarrassment and sink into the blankets, hoping that they will hide me from it all.

"Oh, come on. I still need to talk to you about something."

 _Oh, Gods. Not a talk. That's the last thing I need right now._

"Just to reassure you, I'm breaking not up with you."

A breath of air quickly passes my lips. I hadn't noticed that I have been holding my breath in. Air now heaves in and out of my lungs as I try to regulate my breathing. _She doesn't want to leave me._

It's a bit surreal that Yang wants to stay with me. After the bad argument we had with each other, she still wants to stay. I thought she would hate me because I didn't listen.

Once again, I'm wrong.

"I don't hate you for not listening to me, Weiss. Sometimes we'll get fed up with each other's excuses and we'll get snappy and rude. That's when we need some _me time_." Yang explains. "A relationship can become hard if you stick to your partner like glue… and we both kind have been doing that." She heaves a sigh. "And I should have told you about… Amber."

Amber? Is that the girl who was Yang's first girlfriend? She told… well, yelled at me that she died. Now I feel terrible for not taking into consideration that Yang wouldn't want to talk about her past relationship with me especially if it involved death.

I pull the covers off of me slowly once again to look Yang in the eye. Sorrow hides behind the soft smile she has on her face. Yang hides the pain well, but I know all too well how to hide my feelings which is why it's not hard for me to notice.

"Yang," I say as gently as I can. "You don't have to tell me about her if you don't want to."

She shakes her head. "No. If I told you about Militia. Surely I can tell you about Amber."

I lips pressed into a thin line. Watching Yang put a brave face for others is thoughtful, but who is going to put on a brave face for her.

"She-"

"Stop!" I yelp.

Yang immediately becomes concerned and asks me if I'm okay. She looks to see if she accidentally brushed my scar. Nothing is though.

"Weiss, I don't-"

I jam a finger into her chest. "I'm tired of you constantly having to bring up the past to explain something to me!"

The blonde is baffled by my out cry. "Wha… I… I don't…"

"I'm tired of you having to bring up a reason to explain yourself when I should have more faith in you," I explain. "I should be there for you, Yang, because you're always there for me. bringing up the past and remembering things you want to forget? It's not fair."

"But that's not your choice," Yang states. "It's mine."

"It still doesn't make me feel better," I mumble. "In fact, it feels like I've been using you."

Yang sinks into the covers next to me, whispering. "But you're not."

"Yes, I am!" I yelp. "I'm around you all the time! And you never get to do anything you want!"

A warm hand touches my cheek. "As long as I'm with you everything is fine."

Yang plants a kiss on my forehead. I've missed the feeling on Yang's lips on my skin. I've missed her period.

Her strong arms wrap around my waist and pull me close to her warm body. The scent of oranges and ginger fills my nose. It's a different scent than last time we've been together.

She must have changed body wash or shampoo or something along those lines. Whatever the reason, I love it. Like a fresh start for our relationship which is what's happening.

"Ruby told me you've been having a hard time sleeping," Yang whispers in my ear.

"That's funny because she told me you can't sleep either," I reply.

I receive a snicker from the blonde. "Yeah, the sofa sucks."

We've equally put each other through a lot over the past couple weeks. I think it's time we relax for a moment. A long moment.

I scoot forward, getting as close as I can to Yang, resting my head under her chin. It good to be in her warm embrace again. My body slowly begins to relax, melting into Yang's form.

"Your charity thingy is this week. Am I still on the list?" She asks

I giggle. "Yes, you big dumb blonde. You're still on the list."

"Oh, thank gods." She breathes with over exaggeration. "I was hoping that I could still turn some heads on Friday. Not just at the boxing match but on the dance floor

as well."

"Who are you fighting against on Friday anyway?"

"Neon," Yang grumbles. "The girl is really annoying to fight."

"How so?"

"Neon spits out comments and stuff that aggravate me. She doesn't know when to shut her mouth and fight."

"She sounds like a joke," I reply.

"She is!" Yang exclaims. "She a really bad joke that wasn't planned out at all!"

"Goodness. You must know how to make good jokes if this has you all riled up?" I say in a teasing manner.

"You have no idea." She giggles.

The happy girly noise Yang has made makes me all warm and fuzzy on the inside. I've always loved that feeling in my chest. It's like a reminder that I've fallen in love with someone who makes me feel like I'm loved and wanted. Something that I haven't felt in a long time.

"Ruby and I went dress shopping today," Yang speaks up as she strokes my hair.

I'm close to falling asleep in her arms, but I don't mind carrying out the conversation a little longer. "Mmm. How was it?"

"I kind of left her at the dress shop with Cocoa. Probably should call her at some point."

Cocoa is the keyword that catches my attention. I pull away for a quick second to look her in the eye and ask she's talking about my old roommate. "You know Cocoa? As in Cocoa Adel, right?"

Yang smiles. "Yep. She told me you two used to be roommates back in the day. She's also the reason why I came to talk to you."

"Is that so? Did she also suggest getting me my favorite drink?"

"Nope! Thought of that one all on my own." She sounds so proud.

"I'm glad to see my big dumb blonde did something on her own for once." I giggle.

"I'm glad to see little miss Polly pocket enjoyed my present."

I reel back. "How dare you call me a plastic pocket-sized toy!"

I've downgraded from a pocket princess to a Polly pocket. And she called me little too! That's totally unacceptable!

"Besides, we've already had this conversation about how…"

"You're boob height?"

"NO!"

Yang begins to laugh and if her laugh wasn't so contagious than I might have been mad at her longer. But due to the fact that the both of us are dorks and dolts, we laugh anyway. Like old friends that haven't seen each other since their golden days. It's great.

Our laughter dies down to short wheezes and giggles, then silence.

For the rest of the day, we simply enjoy each others company.

* * *

 **I kind of pictured two best friends getting back together after a disagreement. Also, the two week time skip is for a good purpose, minus the fact that I couldn't think of anything to fill that void. Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter. Don't forget to leave some criticism (life knows I need it), like, comment, subscribe, and I'll see you guys next time! BYE!**


	30. Chapter 30

**First off, gotta love writer's block. It's so much fun to deal with that kind of stuff when you're in the middle of a story. So I randomly through some fluff in and called it good. Sorry that the chapter took longer to get out than I had planned. Second off, Thank you Gorsouul for pointing something pretty funny out. NO Yang didn't break up with Weiss. That was a mistake on my behalf. That's it! Enjoy the chapter!**

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"Ruby! Do you have everything packed!?" Yang yells as she gathers all of her toiletries and stuffs them into a bag.

"I can't find my toothbrush!" Ruby screams from across the hall.

"You two should've packed yesterday when I told you to," I grumble.

Watching Ruby and Yang go back and forth from their suitcase to their dressers, bathroom, and other areas of the penthouse to gather things together while screaming at each other causes my head to ache. I sit on the bed happily drinking my morning coffee as the two oafish sisters frantically throw things into their bags.

"Does the hotel have a pool?!" It almost looks like Ruby's eyes are about fall out of her sockets due to all the stress.

"Yes! There is a pool!" I say rubbing my temple. "I think a migraine is forming."

"Weiss, do you have any extra toothpaste?!" Yang yelled, popping out of the bathroom and rushing up to me. She's a frantic mess as well.

"Sweetheart," I say getting up from the bed just to rest my chin on the blonde busty chest. It may seem embarrassing, but my head hurts too much to care. "I need you and Ruby to lower your voices."

Yang blinks several times. "Comfy?"

 _She didn't listen to a word I just said._

I grumble in annoyance. "Quiet."

"It's just a simple…"

"I said, quiet," I growl lifting my head and pointing a dangerous finger at her face.

The blonde's mouth snaps shut, too scared to see what the punishment is if she disobeys.

"Yang! Do you have anything for-Gah!" Ruby popped into our room at the wrong time. "Weiss, are you motorboating my sister!?"

I could have spun around quick enough to give myself whiplash. Luckily I didn't. "Ruby Rose, I would do no such thing to your sister! And quit reading the smutty books that Blake gives you!"

"Smutty?" Yang exclaims. "What has Blake been teaching you?!"

"Blake has done nothing wrong! I already knew!"

"You already knew?! How did you find out!?"

"We can talk about this later!" I cry out, throwing my arms up. "Right now you guys need to finish packing!"

I begin to shove the two out the door. One: so they can actually start packing _neatly_ instead of cramming things into their suitcases. Two: because of all the commotion that's buzzing around the room is making my head pound like someone is using it as a drum.

"But…"

"No, but's!"

"What about…"

"I'll have one my maids get you some toothpaste, Yang!"

The sisters pass the door's threshold. I throw Yang her sack of… stuff (clothes I hope) and explain to the two that they have five minutes to get ready I'll leave them here before shutting the door rudely in their face.

The two scamper off as I sit back down and finish my coffee. _Today will be an interesting day._ I thought.

"Did Everyone already get picked up?" Ruby asks as she skips to the black car almost as if nothing up in the penthouse happened.

"Yes," I reply. "They should be on the jet waiting for us."

Klein pops out of the car. "Hello there Miss Schnee."

I'm taken by surprise from Klein presences. "Klein? I thought you were supposed to help the others get the ballroom ready for tonight?"

"And miss meeting all of your wonderful friends?" He questions with a sweet smile. "Never!"

Klein proceeds to take my suitcase as well as Yang's and Ruby's bags and puts them in the trunk. The sisters thank him for his kind deed before he opens the car door. Then things get a little embarrassing.

Yang and Klein reached for the handle at the same time, their hand almost touching. Yang quickly retracts her hand giving Klein a sheepish smile.

"Sorry. I have a bad habit of getting doors for people." She says scratching the back of her head

The butler blinks for a second before turning to me. "Your girlfriend seems well mannered and kind."

"Klein!" I squeak. "Who told you Yang is my girlfriend?!"

"Your mother Miss Schnee." Klein's mustache wiggles as he speaks.

I groan, cupping my face out of pure embarrassment, shaking my head. _I knew mother couldn't keep a secret._

"You've talked about me?" Yang asks.

"Oh, yes. She talks very fondly of you!" Klein answers.

"Klein!" I cry out, stomping my foot like a child.

"Oops. Sorry, but our conversation will be cut short Miss Xiao-Long." Klein says. "If I continue on I might lose my job."

Yang shrugs. "No biggie. Thanks for sharing."

Klein nods and opens the door, gesturing us to climb in. Ruby's the first then Yang then me. The door closes and not long after the engine begins to hum under our feet. The car slowly pulls forward, out onto the road before picking up speed.

I keep my gaze out the window, hoping that Yang won't bring up the little conversation she and Klein had. No luck though.

Yang leans over to my side and whispers in my ear. "I'm glad to know that you talk fondly of me."

I should have prayed instead of hoped. I suppose I should bark back with something better.

"Do you talk about me with your parents?" not the best thing that I've thought of.

"Nope! Yang's too embarrassed about stuff like that!" Ruby chimes in. "Around mom and dad at least. But when around her friends, Yang can't shut up about you."

"Ruby!" Yang yelps pulling away from me.

"I like to think you have Yang wrapped around your finger." the brunette adds.

"RUBY!"

 _Wrapped around my finger? I don't know how I feel about that._ A smirk tickles my lips. _Praise Remnant's gods for Ruby though. Who knew she was going to be my savior._

The rest of the drive to the airport was fine. We continued with our laughful banter and teasing, simple talks and conversations that I'm certain we have enjoyed.

Once stopping in front of the sleek metal winged machine, Ruby gasps. I can see her eyes growing wide on the reflection in the window.

"Woah." The brunette breathes. "You get on that whenever you need to leave Atlas?"

The engine cuts off allowing Klein to open the door and letting us file out.

"Mhm." I hum, taking Yang's helping hand and climbing out. "It makes travel much easier for our family to get around without the hundreds of people rushing up to us in the airport."

"Has anyone rushed up to you recently?" Yang asks.

"No. After the… incident. I've had bodyguards around me all the time." I pause for a moment. "They were around until nobody wanted to get near me. It was a fear tactic and I despised it. I grew up to be an awkward child with issues because I didn't know how to socialize or how to handle crowds."

Yang looks over at me with sad eyes. "Sorry that you didn't get a real chance to socialize with others."

I shrug. "I didn't really like talking to others anyway. I suppose having issues helped me avoid all the snobby rich kids and boring parties."

"But you didn't have friends at a young age either." Yang points out.

She's right about that. Although I do not like socializing with others I've always wished to have someone, other than a family member, listen and talk to me. Not like the butlers or the maids, but like a person who you can trust and tell secrets to. Someone who will let you cry on their shoulder and laugh with.

"No," I draw my gaze to the ground. "I didn't."

"Ehh! Who needs em!" A familiar yellow tailed Faunus interjects. "I've heard that most of the people up in Atlas are airheads."

I suppose Sun and Neptune had come down to greet us. I see no other reason why they would come down here in the first place.

"Sun," Neptune growls, swatting Sun's arm. "Don't say that."

"Ow." The Faunus grumbles, rubbing his arm.

"He's not wrong, Neptune. Altas may have advanced science and technology, but the people tend to be oblivious to what's happening with the outside world." I say. "They're too busy dwelling in their riches and fame or sticking their noses in electronic parts. I think that's why they can't handle newcomers very well."

"That definitely sounds like Atlas." Ilia chimes in, making her way down the jet's steps to us. "A bunch of rich people throwing their money around and showing off all their gadgets got old for me."

"You… lived in Atlas?" I ask with hesitance.

"I did until things had become too unbearable for my family. We moved to menagerie afterward." The chameleon informs.

I begin to reply, but a husky voice cuts into our talk. "Miss Schnee."

I turn to the voice. The man is well groomed and dressed. He must be the new pilot Klein told me about on the way here.

"Yes, sir?"

"Could you and your friends please make your onto the plane. We'll be taking off shortly." The pilot seems to speak as if I were a child. That or he does not know how to handle college students and seems a bit out of place.

I force a smile though and tell everyone that we'll be leaving soon. Sun and Neptune are the first up followed by Ilia, Ruby, me then Yang.

"I always wanted to know what it looked like on the inside," Ruby says as we make our way up the stairs.

When I step into the cabin, Pyrrha and Jaune are sitting next together. Jaune must have said something funny because Pyrrha begins to laugh. Penny waves Ruby over to an empty seat. Ilia takes her rightful seat next to Blake. Sun and Neptune sit across them, talking about some school paper.

"Where do you usually sit?" Yang asks. She slips her hand into mine allowing me to lead the way.

I tug her to the back of the plane and plop myself down on the comfortable white leather chair that I've finally broken into. Yang follows suit and plops down what I thought would be her own seat, but she takes a seat on my lap.

A puff of air shoots out of my lungs when Yang's weight sinks into my lap. I forgot how much she weighed.

"Man, Weiss! This seat is super comfortable." The blonde says jokingly.

"Yang, please." I strain.

I feel the weight leave my leg and I'm pulled to my feet. Yang quickly switched places and sits in my seat, pulling me into her lap. An embarrassing squeak escapes my lips as I fall into my girlfriend's lap.

Her fingers rub my low outer thigh. "Better?"

I adjust my glasses and pull my dress down to cover my knees, causing Yang to move her fingers. "Better."

"You can always tell me if I'm stepping out of line," Yang whispers.

"I know," I say taking her hands and wrapping them around my waist. "But I don't want to limit you."

I receive a scoff and raise a brow. "What?"

"You don't have to give me anything, Weiss," Yang says resting her forehead against my back, her arms lightly squeeze my waist.

In a few minutes, we take off which means Yang is forced out of my seat and into her own. The flight had been more enjoyable than the others now that I have company to share it with. Everyone has been served food and given drinks. Yang's friends show much kindness to the caters who brought them their lunch. We laughed, joked, talked and moved about the cabin until landing.

The pilot from earlier leaves the cockpit and opens the jet's door. "Welcome home Miss Schnee. Please watch your step as you exit the aircraft."

We file out like soldiers. There are some oohs and ahs from Yang's friends… my friends… our friends? Oh, you know what I mean.

"Ladies and gentlemen," I say taking my last step off the stairs. "Welcome to Altas." I gesture to the skyscrapers of Altas.

"Never thought I would come back in the city of dreams," Ilia says as we make our way to the black limo.

"City of dreams?" Ruby questions.

"Altas is also known as the city of dreams," Penny informs. "People from all over the world come to Altas to achieve their dreams."

"Or have it fall apart and they go back home to cry to mommy," Sun adds. He receives a swat from Neptune again.

We pile into the limo like clowns in a car. The drive informs my friends that their luggage will arrive at the hotel shortly after they do. The Limo pulls out of the airport and into the busy Atlas traffic.

Ruby's face is glued to the window while Penny feeds her information about historical monuments and so on.

"She's come to Altas before to see you fight right?" I ask turning to the blonde.

She shakes her head.

"Why not?"

"We're a poor family, Weiss," Yang replies as if it were common knowledge. "We don't have the money to send Ruby to every fight I have outside of Vale. This is her first time being in Altas."

"Oh," I sink back in my seat, scolding myself for asking such an idiotic question.

 _I wonder if I make anyone here feel… degraded? Lower class? Poor? Oh, that's the word._

Inferior. I don't want them to think that I'm above them or that they're below me. Some of us may be on opposite sides of the money spectrum and I hope no one will think they're inferior or incompetent because they are a middle-class citizen.

It didn't take long for us to stop at a nearby five-star hotel. It stands tall and proud like the many other buildings of Atlas. Tons of people stay at the Malaysian when visiting if they don't own a penthouse or private house that is.

Ruby zips out of the car with excitement, running past many unknown rich people with scowls on their after rude introduction from the speedster.

"Ruby!" Yang slips out and follows after her sister. "That damn kid is going to get into some serious trouble."

The rest of them jump out too to help Yang in her search. I quickly tell the driver to wait and hop out to join my friends in the search for Ruby.

"Split up," Yang commands when we pass the door's threshold.

I watch as her friends break up and head in different directions. I'm starting wonder if it's a good idea to let Ruby in the manor. The girl tends to wander around… a lot. Maybe Ruby will tucker herself out before any of us will find her.

I'm trying to give myself an excuse to not run around and get all sweaty and gross before returning home.

"They didn't even look at the beautiful foyer," I grumble, jogging by the waterfall, trees, and a river. "I'm going to ring Ruby's neck when I find her."

After fifteen minutes of running around like bimbos and headless chickens, Sun finally ran into Ruby on the top floor. Yang scolded her younger sibling while Pyrrha got everyone checked in. A bellboy came in not too long after they checked in with their bag. He escorts them to their rooms While Yang and I say our goodbyes until tonight.

"Just make sure you win tonight," I say.

Yang laughs as if I told her a joke. "Don't worry princess." She jams a thumb in her chest. "You talking to the number one mix martial arts women's boxer, college wise that is."

"You almost became number two the other night."

"Yeah," She rubs the back of her head. "We… we shouldn't talk about that."

"I'll see you tonight right?" I say. I know I'll her tonight but I would like to clarify it first.

"Yeah, you'll see me tonight. But I'm sure I'll give you a nosebleed."

I push her playfully. "Shut up you oaf."

"Okay, okay." Yang chuckles.

She walks me out to the limo, helps me in and waves goodbye until I disappear around a building. I have a good feeling about tonight.

Upon my arriving at the manor, I see several paintings being moved in. Each one is handled delicately and with care. Dice stands at the steps giving each group a set of instructions as to where they should put the paintings. Mother stands at his side waiting patiently for me.

The driver opens the door and helps me out then disappears for a moment only to come back with my luggage.

"Please take my things up to my room," I instruct.

The man grunts and begins to make his way up the steps, doing his best to maneuver through the people coming in and out of the main entrance.

"And thank you," I call out, catching my mother's and Dice's attention.

"Weiss!" Mother rushes down the steps and pulls me into a strong hug. "It's so good to see you again."

I giggle. "We saw each other a couple weeks ago mother."

"I know," She says, pulling away to look me in the eyes. "But this is under different circumstances. I'm no longer bound to a hospital bed or the building. I'm able to go wherever and do whatever the restrictions of a doctor or the confinement of a hospital."

"But you are grateful that Boston did save your life?" Dice chimes in. He smiles brightly and pulls the both of us into a hug. "Welcome home darling."

Our family reunion is cut short because Dice must attend to the ballroom to make sure everything is right. I understand and am not upset about his shortcoming. I do spend my time with mother though. She tells me that a lot has been going into this charity and that it has put Dice a little on edge due to the fact that he has to instruct a charity and the company at the same time. This is something Dice new to so bothering is not the best option.

"Is there anything I can do?" I ask, hoping that I could maybe lighten Dice's load of work.

Mother shakes her head. "I'm afraid the only thing you can do is get ready for tonight."

I think for a moment hoping that I can find something or other to do for Dice to help with the charity.

"I know you want to help him, sweetheart. Trust me the best thing you can do is leave the man to his work." Mother says with a soft smile.

"Okay."

We walk through the manor until arriving at my room. The grumpy butler had set my luggage down on my bed, waiting to be unpacked.

"Will Yang be accompanying you to the dance tonight?" Mother asks as walks around the room.

"Yes, She will," I say. "After her fight with Neon."

"She has a fight tonight? Well, I hope she doesn't come in her fighting attire. It would be a bit immodest for the charity."

I blink a couple times and pull my gaze towards mother. "How do you know what she looks like in her boxing outfit."

Mother turns to me with an innocent smile.

My eyes widen in fear. "Oh, my gods! Have you been watching her fight, Mother!"

"What on Remnant gave you that idea?" Mother asks, acting innocent.

My face becomes red out of anger and embarrassment. Fuming like a child, I stomp over to the woman. "Stop stalking my girlfriend! I don't need you to embarrass me tonight nor do I want her knowing that you watch her on tv!"

Mother giggles as if this were a game. "Weiss, calm down darling. No need to get your emotions all knotted up and in a mess."

"I'm serious, mother," I say sternly. "I don't want to look like a fool in front of my friends, or Yang, or anyone else for that matter. Maybe when everyone leaves and it's only the three of us then maybe I'll let you tell all of the embarrassing stories until your heart's content."

"Don't worry dear. I promise not to talk about anything too embarrassing. I'm saving all of the good stuff for later."

"Mother!"

"Come now, Weiss. You should start unpacking and freshening up. I have the perfect dress for you tonight." She says, making her way to the room's exit.

Knowing my mother, she most likely does. I unpack and turn on the shower. Wasting no time or hot water, I hop into the shower and begin to wash off. Starting at the top and working my way down, I finish my shower in twenty minutes.

With a towel wrapped around my hair and body, I step out into my open room and begin to put fresh undergarments on. I'm rudely interrupted by mother though. She came barging with a beautiful white dress that's laced with black around the collar.

"Mother!" I cry, pulling my towel back up to cover my bare chest. "What in Remnant's gods do you think you're doing!"

"Oh, sorry, Weiss. I didn't think you were out of the shower yet." Mother replies.

"Well I am and I would like to get dressed without you in here."

"It's not I haven't seen you…"

"Out!" I yelled, cutting her off.

Mother doesn't dash away from my outburst. She simply and calmly sets the dress down on my bed and walks out. I feel ashamed for yelling and quickly stop her before she walks out to apologize.

"I'm sorry for raising my voice, Mother." I say softly." And… thank you for the dress. It lovely."

Mother turns to me, flashing a warm motherly smile before closing the door. Leaving me to my own devices.

A sigh escapes my lips. _I'll apologize to her again under different circumstances. Ones where I'm fully dressed and ready for her._

Minutes after getting myself dressed, I receive a text from Yang.

 _Hey, lovely! Wish I had a good luck kiss before the fight. Make sure you save a dance for me tonight._

I smile and begin to type. _No worries my little sun dragon. You have all the luck you need. Although I would like to give you a kiss._

 _Save it for later._

 _Oh, I intend to._

 _So I'll get a nosebleed and a kiss from you. Sweet!_

 _Hah! Only in your dreams Xiao-Long._

 _The only dreams I've had recently are of you and me on a dance floor outshining everyone._

Her text causes my smile to broaden. _Is that so?_

 _As a matter of fact, that is so! I got to go. Love ya, babe! Can't wait to see you in a dress! Bye!_

I quickly text back in hopes that Yang will read my message before leaving for the octagon. _Love you too. I have a good feeling that you'll win tonight. I'll be cheering for you. Goodbye!_

I set my phone down, happy to know that Yang is still coming tonight. After our fight and separation, I feared that she had broken up and abandoned me for someone else. It's become a problem to the point to whenever I wake and Yang is not in bed causes me to have minor panic attacks or I'll have trouble breathing or begin to cry.

 _There is no need to be thinking about that right now. I have a charity to attend._

I push the thoughts aside to finish getting ready, moving from the bedroom to the bathroom to put on the last of my makeup.

Several knocks on my door caused me to pause.

"Yes!"

"Sorry to bother you Miss Schnee, but several people around your age have arrived and are wandering you are."

 _They're here early,_ I thought. _The charity does not start for another forty-five minutes. Maybe they got here early to… hang out? Or maybe they would like to have a look around the manor. Whatever the reason I can't keep them waiting much longer._

I put on the last touches of my makeup and make my way down to the foyer. Upon my entrance, I only see Sun, Neptune, Penny, and Jaune waiting for someone to giving them a helping hand. Sun and Jaune are wearing normal black tuxedos with different yellow colored ties while Neptune sports a navy blue suit and vest with an eye-catching white tie. Penny is wearing a light green dress with a bow that sits on her backside.

"Where are the others?" I ask.

"What? Are we not good enough for you?" Sun smirks.

"No! I don't mean it like that… I thought all of you were here and…"

"It's okay, Weiss." Jaune pipes up. "Sun was only messing with you."

My nerves calm down. "Oh… could you still answer my question though."

"You know girls," Neptune says. "They take forever getting ready."

"Except for me," Penny adds.

"Except for Penny."

"Oh, Ruby will be coming with Yang since this is her first and last time seeing Yang fight in Altas," Jaune informs me.

"Thank you for telling me, Jaune."

We sit in an awkward silence for a moment. Everyone either eyes the ground or each other, waiting to for someone to strike up a conversation.

"Would you guys… like to look around the manor while we wait?" I ask, unsure of my own idea.

The four look at each other, seeing if anyone is willing to speak up or voice their opinion. The moment of silence has me questioning if it was okay to ask that.

Penny smiles cheerfully. "I would love to take a tour."

"Eh, I don't have anything else to do," Sun says.

"Yeah, a tour sounds nice," Neptune adds. "So if I get lost I'll know how to back."

We turn our attention to Jaune.

He smiles brightly. "Lead the way."

From room to room, we moved. I gave a short explanation of each room and what they're used for. Some rooms though I didn't know we had.

"And this is the ballroom," I say opening a set of double doors to a huge open area with paintings on display for the charity which is in ten minutes.

Tables and chairs have been set up one side for those who choose to sit instead of stand. The wooden floors that have seen much wear and tear over the years have been polished and a more dazzling chandelier hangs from the ceiling for all to see. Their crystals sparkle like diamonds, adding more color to the dull white room. Everything is ready for tonight.

Sun whistles at how much open space there is. "Man you got a crazy place, Schnee."

"Thank you… I suppose. Now make yourselves comfortable. The charity will be…"

"Weiss, Honey. "Dice calls from afar. "I told you. No guests in the ballroom until seven."

"Oh," I give Dice a slight bow. "Sorry, father. I was just showing my friends around the manor."

"Your friends." He raises a brow, looking over my shoulder.

"Yes."

He smiles warmly, walks past me and sticks out a hand for Jaune to shake. "Dice Schnee. Weiss' stepfather. It's nice to meet you, Mister…"

"Jaune Arc," Jaunes says with confidence, taking Dice's hand and shaking.

Dice chuckles. "You have a strong grip there son!"

They release and Dice moves on to Penny. This time being more gentle and sincere with his handshake. "Welcome to Schnee manor, Penny. It's wonderful to see you again."

"It's a pleasure to see you again as well Dice."

I look between the two. "You two know each other?"

Penny smiles. "Yes! Back when Ironwood had meetings with my father, Dice would come along. Since we didn't have the money to buy the resources we needed at the time, Dice was humble enough to donate to us."

"I'll glad I did." Dice adds. "Because if I didn't Willow might have survived her ordeal in the hospital."

Dice move on to Neptune.

"It's nice to meet you, sir. My name is Neptune."

"Neptune? I must take it that you like the water."

The blue-haired boy shakes his head. "Actually I've had some… bad experiences with the ocean so…"  
"I'm terribly sorry for that. And who's this young man?" He's referring to Sun next to Neptune.

"This is…"

"I'm Sun Wu-kong!" Sun says with his signature smirk. "I'm good friends with your daughters' girlfriend."

"Well, Sun, it's nice to…" Dice freezes once his eyes land on Sun's wagging yellow tail. "You… You're… a Faunus." Dice's voice becomes sharp and hostile. Then he points that dangerous tone at me. "You brought a faunus here!"

I wince at the hostility is Dice's voice. It's unnatural and weird to hear him get angry.

"I'm sorry, what's the matter with Sun being a Faunus?" Neptune asks harshly.

"That doesn't concern you." Dice growls making his way up to me. "You are no longer to be around or near that boy or any other faunus that you have made friends with."

"Wh… what…" I can't believe how fast all this is falling apart. One minute Dice is meeting everybody happily then, as if it were a simple flip on the coin, he's angered and upset.

"I'll have Markus come and escort your _friends_ out." Dice adds coldly, waving his hand over to someone not far from us.

A tall beefy bald man with tattoos that covered his neck came strolling up. Markus is the family bodyguard if I must inform you. He's nice, but when he needs to protect or guard someone then goodbye Mister nice guy.

"What? You can't make them leave!" I reply putting myself between my friends and Markus. "They are my friends."

"I am trying to protect you, Weiss. I will not let you get mixed in with the wrong crowd!"

"I'm not in the wrong crowd!" I cry out in defense. "These are my friends. And if they leave then I'm leaving with them."

"No, you're not." Dice snatches up my arm and keeps me in place with an iron grip. "Make sure they all arrive safely to the hotel, Markus."

I wrench and pull twist and pry, but nothing works. I watch helplessly as Markus gathers everyone together and pushes them out the door. Once the doors close, I fall to my knees and stare at the floor.

"I'm sorry, Weiss." Dice speaks much softer now. "But I'm not going to lose another child to the white fang."

When I don't reply, Dice sighs and releases my arm. Without a second thought, I bolt out of the ballroom to the car, hoping I can still catch it in time. I throw open the front doors to see that the limo hasn't left. Luck must be on my side today. I take quick steps down and hop in before the driver can pull away.

"Weiss!?" The four young adults seem shocked to see that I've made it to the car on time.

"Hello again," I say breathlessly

I take a seat next to Jaune and Penny, happy to know that I've made the right choice to disobey Dice and come with my friends instead.

"I suppose I owe you all an explanation as to why my stepfather got mad at Sun for being a Faunus." I settle my hands in my lap.

"Uh, yeah!" Sun exclaims. "I would love to know why your pops hate me."

"He doesn't hate you. It's just that… well, you see… "I sigh. "A couple years my stepbrother, William, had been attacked and lost his life because of it."

"Okay…, but what does that have to do with Sun being a Faunus." Neptune.

"Well, you see Dice has always believed that the White Fang caused Wills death and he's grown to… dislike them. Until something or someone can prove him wrong, Dice will continue to believe and blame the Faunus for Wills death."

We sit in silence for a minute or two. Knowing full well they're pulling in as much information as they can, I add on, hoping they will understand Dice is misguiding the faunus.

"Dice used to work with the white fang when they didn't have rebellions or splinter groups. He used to be the human representative for them, but…"

"That changed after your brother died," Jaune says softly.

Another moment of silence. Death isn't an easy thing to talk about. Even if Will's passing was years ago it still feels like months to me.

"What about-" Sun's question is cut by the sound of the metal crunching and glass shattering.

Everything seemed to slow down at this point. Everyone was jostled to one side of the limo. Shards of glass rolls through the air. The look of horror and panic has stricken everyone's face.

A small flicker of light then I black out.

* * *

 **I've waited so long to write this next part. I needed to put some fluff in this chapter because the next set is going to be a blur. Leave some criticism and tell me if I missed anything. I'll go back and fix it. Hope you guys enjoyed. Like, comment, subscribe and I'll see you guys later! BYE!**


	31. Chapter 31

**I have no comments except that I'm sorry it took so long for me to write this chapter. Enjoy it anyway though.**

* * *

Yang's PoV

"Yang Xiao-Long wins!" The man over the microphone announces as Neon tabs out. The pink tailed Faunus would not have lasted much longer in my choke hold.

The match had been hard fought, but I managed to end my year and time at Beacon with all wins and no losses. It feels good to have all my hard work and stubbornness paid off.

The crowd cheers my name as I step out of the ring, Ruby's voice being the loudest of them all.

"WAY TO GO SIS!"

I can see the little brunette bouncing up and down, continuing to scream and shout my name.

Cameras flash and sports reporters ask questions. I turn them all down saying that I have somewhere important to be. Did that stop any of them from throwing questions at me or shoving a microphone in my face? No! Junior easily put himself between me and the flashing lights though. Pushing his way through the sea of people to make a path for me.

Once in the locker room, I'm tackled by my sis. Junior is kind enough to Rubes in and since I am the only family she has in Atlas. Who knew Junior was a family man.

"That was an awesome fight sis!" Ruby practically yells in my ear.

I chuckle breathlessly. "Thanks, Rubes!"

Ruby pulls away, but continues to rabble about the fight, adding her own little moves as she describes the fight. I make my way over the only locker that is occupied with my things and gather them up. Throwing on a hoodie and sweatpants, even though I'm already drowning in sweat, I put on my sneakers and we head out.

"Oh, and that uppercut was amazing!" Ruby exclaims. "You sent her flying across the ring!"

I know the girl is exaggerating, but I'm not going to rain on her parade. Ruby may be twenty-one, but she acts like a ten-year-old sometimes. That's what makes her the most adorable sister in the world even if she can be annoying at times.

We leave the gym without any issues. I tell Junior where I'm going before leaving just in case if anything happens to my sis and me on the way to our hotel which is not far from the school. The cooler weather of Atlas makes my sweats more bearable and comfortable to wear now that the fabric is no longer sticking to my body.

"I call the first shower when we get back, okay," I announce.

"Aw, what!" Ruby whines. "Why?"

"Because I'm all sweaty and gross." I point out. "Also you take forever when in the shower and you use up all the hot water."

"Good point."

We weave our way through the busy people rushing up and down the street. Some have their phones stuck to their ears or earbuds jammed in their heads. The city seems nice, but I'm sure if Ruby or I bumped into one of these people, they would be disgusted. They wouldn't want their fancy clothes ruined by people who don't have the same status as them.

"What do you think the party will be like?" Ruby asks as we press forward.

"Nice. And it's not a party, Rubes, it's a charity." I reply. "Which means there will be fancy stuff and there will be many wealthy people there and lots of alcohol. So watch what you drink and don't do anything stupid."

"Okay."

She says okay, but she doesn't mean. Which is what bothers me as an older sibling. Ruby says things sometimes and then ends up getting herself stuck a situation that I told her not to get into. So as the older sibling, I enforce the rules this time. Seeing that we are going to be in a foreign environment and with many people there, I won't be able to keep an eye on her all the time.

"I mean it, Ruby," I say sternly, turning to her. "I can't keep an eye on you all the time."

"I can look after myself, Yang," Ruby says. "I'm not a child anymore."

I turn back around and continue to walk, mumbling. "You still act like one though."

"I heard that!"

We continue to walk down the street in silence. Listening to the hum of tires on pavement. The click-clacking of people walking sounds like water rushing down a river. It's nice until a siren came down wailing the street.

I stop to watch the flashing lights roll down the street. Ruby bumps into me on accident and asks why I've stopped. Eyeing the ambulance, I watch it turn down a street opposite to the direction of the hotel.

For some odd reason, I felt like following the emergency car to see what happened. Just out of curiosity and acting on that feeling, I made my way across the street. Several people stopped and honked as I jay-walked across the street without looking. Ruby calls out my name several times before rushing up to me to ask what I'm doing.

"I'm following that ambulance," I say, continuing on my journey.

"But why?" Ruby asks.

"I got this feeling about the ambulance."

"What? Did it give you a dirty look?" Ruby snickers.

"Yes, the ambulance gave me a bad look." I deadpan. "Now I'm going to put some dents in it."

Ruby gives me a short laugh which in return puts a slight smirk on my face. We turn down the same street as the ambulance. The first thing that catches my attention is the pillar of smoke rising in the sky. Five blocks down, I see several police cars, fire trucks, and ambulances. The murmuring of people is small but grows louder as me and Ruby push through to see what has happened.

Several pieces of twisted metal lay around the road. Glass litters the Tarmac, sticking like diamonds in the ruff. Cops on standby keep the people at bay as the firemen work to get anyone else left in the car out. The accident looks pretty and I can pray that nobody has died today.

My eyes widen as the sight of the first person that the firemen pull out of the knotted up car. The light-blue hair is unmistakably him. Which means… oh, gods!

My stomach begins to twist and compress as I watch Neptune be pulled from the car. Another fireman helps a blond boy who is good enough to walk on his own. Sun. He didn't look as bad as Neptune who at least had a couple broken bones, only a couple scratches.

Gods! The need to rush out there to help my friends burns a hole in my soul. I feel useless just standing here and watching, but if I go out there then I'll get other peoples way which isn't good. The next person causes Ruby to gasp and cover her mouth.

"Get this on the ambulance right away!" The fireman demands as he pulls out an orange haired girl.

Penny had deep gashes across her arms and body. She looked weak and pale; I can't tell if she's breathing or not.

"Penny…" Ruby whimpered. "Penny!"

Ruby rushed past me but she doesn't get very far. I catch her by the wrist and pull her back.

"Let go, Yang!" She cries, trying her best to pull away.

"I can't let you go out there, Ruby. You'll only get in the way." I said as sternly as possible.

Ruby doesn't seem to care about what I say and begins to punch me. Tears swell in her eyes as she continues to thrash like a fish out of water.

"Let Go!" Ruby wails. "She needs me!"

Her wails only strengthen my grip. "I can't…"

My voice catches in my throat when a flash of white is being past out of the car and my heart sank fast. She looked bloody and bruised all over. She looked paler than Penny. Hell, she looked paler than snow! One gash stuck out for me is the one that covered her left eye. It still is gushing blood and by the looks of her won't be seeing out that eye for a long time.

"Weiss!" I scream, pulling Ruby along with me, ignoring my own warnings.

We didn't make it far. The cops stopped us at the curb.

"Please, ma'am. Stay back!" One cop orders.

"You don't understand," I growl. "My girlfriend is out there by herself."

"I'm sorry but-"

"Please!" Ruby cries. "I can't let Penny be alone when she wakes up. So please let us through!"

The cop continues to tell us no as the people on the scene work quickly to release everyone from their metal prison. The last being Jaune who looks worse than them all. He's limp and covered in blood. The fireman who pulled him out says something another nearby fireman. He looks grim as he hands Jaune over to the other.

That's when I realized Jaune is longer in the land of the living.

The only person that comes to my mind at this moment is… "Pyrrha…"

 _Pyrrha will be ripped to shreds once she hears that Jaune is… no! He's still alive! He just passed out due to all the pain. Yeah! Nothing to worry about._

I watch as Sun hops in the same ambulance as Neptune is being packed in than a light bulb pops in my head.

"Can we at least ride in the ambulance with our friends?" I ask.

Cop mulls over my question for a moment. He doesn't have much time to really think through the question, because the ambulance that carries Weiss is pulling out.

"Won't you want someone to be there for you when you waked the hospital?" Ruby asks as people begin to make way for the emergency car.

"Alright, fine." The cop agrees. "But you're going to have to ride with a less injured person. We don't need you two getting the way of the medical people in the car."

The cop leads us to Sun and tells the driver that we are his friends and are going with them. The man agrees to take us but tells us to hurry up; he still has an injured person on board.

The cop loads us up and the ambulance's wailing siren comes on, telling people to get out of the way.

"Glad you guys joined the party," Sun says.

He may be joking, but he sounds like a lot of dust trapped in his throat like an old man on his deathbed. Sun may not look like he's about to die, but he does look like he is.

"What happened, Sun?" I ask.

"After running into Weiss stepfather, we were kind of kicked out of the party." Sun draws his gaze the light-blue haired boy lying unconscious in the middle of the emergency vehicle. "On our way back to the hotel, we were struck by an SUV. There were a couple of yelps and screams of pain until the limo stopped rolling, then there was silence… Weiss, Jaune, and Penny got the worst of it."

 _That does make sense seeing that those three looked the worst of them all. But why did they get kicked out of Weiss' charity? What happened?_

"Should we tell the others what happened?" Ruby asks. "Pyrrha, Blake, and Ilia? Shouldn't they have a right to know?"

"They should… in time." I reply. "We don't know if Jaune… is still alive."

A sorrowful silence falls over the three of us. It's hard to tell if he'll make it or not and I don't want to jump to conclusions about it right now. I can't lie to Pyrrha. It will crush her heart to bits if I give false hope.

"So… why did you guys get kicked out?" I say, changing the subject.

Sun leans back in his seat. "Dice seemed like a kind and fun stepfather, but Weiss didn't warn us that he is a bit of a racist towards Faunus."

 _Oh, shit! I forgot to talk to Weiss about being a racist. I also forgot to tell her about the plans her stepfather had for her tonight. Gods what am I going to tell her when she wakes up._

"This is all my fault." My face sinks into my hands.

I feel a hand on my shoulder. Ruby.

"How is any of this your fault?" She asks. "You weren't behind the wheel of that car, Yang."

"Ruby's right," Sun says. "This isn't your fault! Those damn bastards who were driving did-"

"But I knew about it!" I cry out. "I knew Weiss' stepfather is a racist and she would be attacked."

Sun and Ruby look at each other in confusion.

"What do you mean by attacked?" Sun asks.

"Yeah, and how did you find out?" Ruby adds.

I take a deep breath from the beginning. "Well at the dance a couple weeks ago, Uncle Qrow stopped by to give me important information that could not be discussed over the phone. So he interrupts my dance with Weiss and took me outside. He told me that Weiss' life would be traded for her brother's, but… seeing that he's dead they won't have a fair trade."

"So Dice hired some people to attack the limo and kill her!" Ruby squeaks.

"Qrow told me that Weiss' step-dad plans on selling her for his son, but if he found about that his son is really six feet under than why would he still go after Weiss?"

The ambulance slams to a stop. I hear the medics rush of the car and to the back. The doors swing open and the medics begin to unpack Neptune and take him to the emergency room. Sun follows after them while Ruby goes to look for Penny. I sit patiently in the hospital lobby, waiting for Weiss to show up. It does not take long for another small group to come in with the white-haired girl on a stretcher and an iv attached to her arm. I quickly stand up to follow them, but I stop myself. _Should I follow them and cause a scene or should I just wait for them to get done?_

By the time I make up my mind the nurses and doctors have already passed through the next set of double doors where no one except for them is allowed to go through. I sit back down. _It feels unnatural. I can't sit here and do nothing while everyone else suffers in a bed withering in their own pain._ My hands grip the armrests, footing tapping impatiently as I wait. _What would I do when I got back there anyway. I don't have… some semblance or whatever to make their injuries go away!_

My mind slips into an endless thought as to what I should do. None of the solutions I think of are right or even possible to do without some kind of crazy science or magic or demon blood or whatever.

"Ma'am!"

I have been in my thought for so long that I've been blinded and didn't notice the woman green scrubs standing in front of me. She has this sour look on her face.

"Y-yes?"

"Could you please stop tapping your foot. People are trying to work and wait in silence." She says in the close to dry tone.

"Oh… Sorry. I'm just nervous. You see my girlfriend just got in a serious car and could be in a coma or…" I snap my mouth shut.

"Oh…" the woman sounds more sympathetic for me. "What is her name."

"Weiss. Weiss Schnee."

"Weiss… Schnee." The woman repeats. "Well if I hear anything about Miss Schnee than I'll know who to come to."

I give the woman a grateful smile before she walks away.

Time ticked by slowly or that's what it felt like. Every Time I glance up at the clock a minute or two ticks by. I feel like I'm in detention back in high school except I wish that this was actual detention and not the waiting room in the hospital.

Pyrrha, Blake, and Ilia arrive at least an hour after Weiss' arrive. I fill them in as best as I can but there are some gaps. Ones which I can't explain without Sun.

"Is Jaune alright?" Pyrrha asks desperately.

I knew that would be Pyrrha first question, but I don't know the answer to it. No doctors have come to talk to me and the nurse has either. Nothing I know clarifies if Jaune is alive or dead.

"I'm sorry, Pyrrha, but I wish I knew the answer to your question," I reply.

Pyrrha broke down in tears as she rushed off to the nearest bathroom.

Blake squats down in front of me. "What about Weiss?"

My grip tightens on the seat's armrest, chest tightening. "I don't… I don't know."

I try to hold the tears back. I can't show any sign of weakness. I need to be strong for my friends, for Weiss. She'll need me when the time comes.

"What about Sun and Neptune?" Ilia asks, taking a seat next to me.

"They're… they're okay." I breathe out.

"And Penny?"

"She's in a coma," Ruby says bluntly from behind. "She's a wildcard. They don't know if she'll wake up at all."

"Ruby," I slowly get from my chair. Blake stands to get out of my way.

Tears roll down Ruby's face. A mixture of anger and sadness is painted on it. She must be feeling just as helpless as I do right now. She wants to do something about, but she can't just like I can't.

"Oh, Ruby, I'm so sorry." I pull the brunette into a hug. The only thing I can do to help my little sister.

Ruby cries on my shoulder. She cries so much that her salty tears begin to damped my sweatshirt causing it to stick to my shoulder.

"I want to do something! I want to do something to help her, Yang!" Ruby sobs.

"I know, Ruby." I stroke her head softly. "I want to help too. But all we can do is hope and pray that they'll be okay."

"But I want to do more than just hope and pray!" Ruby cries out. "Their all in there suffering in pain."

"You want to take their pain away," I say gently. "You want to take all their suffering away." I pull away to look her in the eyes. "I want to do the same thing too, Rubes. Trust me. Weiss is bedridden and I would do anything to trade places with her."

I wouldn't have a second thought about switching places with Weiss. She's been through so much and now she can add _car wreck_ to her list of tragic events.

"Ahem."

We pull our attention towards the woman in the green scrubs. The same woman who said she would keep an ear for Weiss' name and will tell me if anything has happened. Hopefully, she's come here to tell us good news. We really need right now.

"Miss…"

I realize that she's waiting for me to tell her my name. "Oh, Yang is fine."

"Yang… Miss Schnee has finished a successful surgery and on her way to a nice recovery." Woman smiles. "Would you like to see her?"

"Yes, please," I say.

The nurse takes me and leads me down several white-walled hallways through, several doors, passed many rooms that are either empty or have patients in them. Ones who will be able to leave someday and ones who are already laying in their deathbeds.

My thoughts go to Penny. The weird but cheery girl who seems to be at Ruby's side when I'm not there is already laying in hers. She's one of the deathbed people, but then again she could rise up out of that bed and walk again.

Then my thoughts are yanked towards the blond haired boy. Jaune was always flirtatious and overconfident in himself, thinking that girls would throw themselves at him. He's also a humble and honest kid who managed to snag Pyrrha Nikos. I haven't heard a word about him since I got here.

"Have you hear anything about a boy named Jaune?" I ask.

"If I get a description maybe I can tell you."

"He's tall, blond and a scrawny but muscular dude," I reply, doing my best to describe Jaune. Who knew it would be hard to describe the boy.

The woman suddenly halts and turns me with a sorrowful look in her eyes. "I'm sorry to say, but your friend did not survive the surgery."

 _What?_

My mind went into a freeze along with the rest of my body. I simply couldn't understand the fact that Jaune, a boy that I've seen in the hallway every day and hung around with, is no longer alive. He's soul past on leaving his fleshy husk behind.

"The doctors did everything they could, but with the punctured lungs, fractured spinal cord, all the blood he's lost. The doctors would be surprised if he survived overnight." The woman says. "I'm sorry for your loss."

I wanted to say something, but what? Thank you? They could have done a better job? I'm sorry too? There's just so many emotions swirling around inside. Anger, sadness, hate, and self-loathing. I don't know what to do.

"Miss Schnee is in here." The woman gesture towards the white door. "I'll leave you two alone. The doctor will be here in a few minutes to give her a quick examination before his day is over."

The woman left after a quiet moment. I should have at least said thank you before she walked off, but I was too clouded by other things to do so. The halls are empty now and with nothing else to do, I take a deep shaky breath and slowly open the door.

The room is dimly lit and the curtains are closed. The only sound that fills the room is the heart monitor slowly and evenly beeping in the air.

Weiss lays in bed with a thin blanket draped over her legs. A bandage is wrapped around her forehead and eye. Bruises are sprinkled all over her arms. She looks less pale though and is sleeping peacefully.

I sigh and pull up a chair next to her. _She's going to be okay,_ I thought. _Weiss is tougher than she looks._

My hand slowly slithers up next to hers and I begin to lace fingers around hers. No warmth come from her hand. Its been replaced by a frigid cold feeling.

Then I wait.

The minutes are counted by the beeps on Weiss' heart monitor. Slow and steady which is what scares me. The beeping could be slowly descending into a flatline or she could be in a coma like Penny. The waiting and thinking cause my foot to start tapping nervously.

 _Come on. Where is the doctor? He should here by now. Ugh! I'm not going to sit here and wait while my girlfriend is in pain. I'm gonna go look for him._

I quietly get up from my chair and bend down to kiss Weiss' hand.

"I'll be back," I say softly before giving the girl a peck of the hand.

Resting her hand back down and quickly, but quietly, I make my way over to the door only to be stopped by my own thoughts. _Can I really leave her here? By herself? In the dark? What if something happens while I'm gone? What if her iv falls out or she stops breathing._ Now I'm trying to convince myself not to go out and look for a doctor. That I should sit here, by Weiss' side and wait for them to come to me.

I don't have a choice now because the door handle begins to turn. I quickly make my retreat back to the chair, acting as if I never got up in the first place.

"What do you mean they're not picking up?" A husky voice hisses, flicking on the lights. "Their daughter is in a hospital bed and no one seems to-" The man cuts himself when he sees me. "James, I'm going to have to call you back." The man wastes no time hanging up and pockets his phone.

He walks over to the edge of Weiss' bed and unhinged the clipboard. He quietly marks his paper as he examines Weiss, all her vitals, the equipment and so on.

"I'm assuming you would like to know what condition your friend is in?" the man asks.

"Yes."

"Let's see here." the man raps his pencil against the clipboard. "She has a concussion, some broken and fractured bones. Her nerves have been seriously damaged in the spinal cord and she has a deep gash on her left eye."

"Is she going to be okay?"

"The recovery will take some time but-"

"No, not that. Will Weiss still be… Weiss?"

The man sighs deeply. "Your friend here may still be her normal self when she wakes up, but if the nerve damage is too great then she'll be bound to a wheelchair for the rest of her life."

* * *

 **I've waited so long to write this part and now I have! AHHH! I'm so happy! Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter and again sorry that I took so long. Leave some criticism. Like, comment, subscribe and I'll see you guys next time. BYE!**


	32. Chapter 32

**I'm late, the chapter is short, sue me later, but for now enjoy the chapter.**

* * *

The man left shortly after breaking the news to me. Weiss could be glued to a wheelchair for the rest of her life. I feel sick all over again. No, this feeling isn't sickness it's fear at its purest. What will her parents do? What will she do? Something like paralysis is not easy to overcome and I know she's faced a lot of hardships. I hope she can overcome this one too. Maybe she doesn't have to do this alone.

The doctor said she won't be awake until morning. He also said that he's surprised that for a girl for her size, she's pretty tough. I wanted to say that she's been through worse, but that's not my story to tell.

A nurse brings me a blanket and a ham sandwich, knowing that it'll be hard for me to leave Weiss' side. I set up camp on the couch and get ready for bed with the few things that I have. I still feel gross all over and my teeth haven't been brushed, but that's not enough for me to leave Weiss alone.

Using my duffle bag as a pillow and rinsing my mouth out with water eight times, I lay on the couch, trying to find a comfortable way to lay. I squirm and wiggle around to find a good enough position to rest in.

I groan and sit up. "This is not working."

I fold up the blanket, shove my bag aside, and use the blanket as a makeshift pillow. Laying my head down on a much softer material, I get myself in a much more comfortable position.

Staring at the plain white ceiling, my mind wanders to other things, none which I can clearly focus on except for Weiss being paralyzed, Penny in coma and Jaune… being in another life.

 _What will Pyrrha do? She's too kind and caring to hold a grudge against people… but if she did hold a grudge I wouldn't want to be in the receiving end of that._

I sit back up. "There's no way I'm going to sleep tonight."

It's no lie. There is no way I'm going to get any sleep. With the uncomfortable couch and the thoughts swirling around inside my head, it's impossible to even try and get some shut-eye. Plus… the heart monitors beeping constantly reminds me that Weiss is here. In pain and in agony and the need to help her, to be by her side, to watch over her while in the dark grows every time the monitor beeps, signifying that she's alive.

I sigh and get off the couch to take my rightful seat on the chair from earlier. A small moan comes from the princess and I freeze. My gaze sharpens as I eye her, waiting to see if something, anything, happens.

Nothing.

I loosen up and rest my hands in my lap, twiddling with my thumbs. "What to do? What to do? What to do?" I murmur to myself.

 _Make sure you win tonight._ Weiss' voice echoes through my head.

A sad smirk crosses my face. "Weiss? I don't know if you can hear me or not, but I just wanted to tell you that I won the match tonight. Wish you could have seen it." A genuine smile comes up, balling my hands into fists and putting them in the air as if I were to fight someone. "I gave her the good ol' one-two for starters." I swing my fists in the air. "Than a couple uppercuts and a roundhouse…"

I stop. The smile fades and I slouch in my seat, eyeing Weiss' covered legs. I cup my face. _What am I going to do?_

I wake with a crick in my neck, a hungry stomach and the monitor still beeping. Thank the gods. The doctor said that Weiss should wake up any minute now, but my stomach begs for food.

I get up from my chair and head for the door, preparing myself for the hunt for food. I give Weiss one last look before making my exit.

 _It's just for a few minutes._ I tell myself though. _She'll be fine._

I wander aimlessly through the hospital until I run into a nurse and ask where the cafeteria might be. She tells me that is all the way on the other side of the hospital and that I should hurry because they'll stop serving breakfast in a few minutes.

I thank the woman before rushing off down the hall. I make a couple turns before entering the main lobby and once again ask where the cafeteria is.

This time a man takes me there which I'm thankful for. I bet he could tell I was struggling to find the way to the cafeteria. I don't care. As long as they are still serving breakfast, I don't mind the help.

Luck seems to be on my side because the cafeteria people have barely started to pick up their breakfast. I needed something quick or I might become an angry blonde. Then my eyes widened, spotting the most beautiful breakfast item of all time. There, sitting on the edge of the table, all covered in its white sweet goodness, is one nummy looking cinnamon roll. It's basically begging to be eaten.

I rush over to the sweet food, snatch it up and dash out. Now with my beastly like belly satisfied, I make my way through the maze of white halls, doing the best I can to get back to Weiss but the halls are never-ending. After wandering the building like a dumbass for ten minutes, I make it back to Weiss' room.

Something is different though. I see a black haired man in a nice suit sitting the chair that I sat it. He and the doctor from last night are talking. The man in the fancy suit must be Weiss' stepdad. So… where is the mom? Did he leave her at home or did she choose to stay home because she knew she couldn't take seeing her daughter in a hospital bed?

I don't get much more time to ponder on the thought. The doctor walks towards the door and the suited man follows. A burst of panic runs through my veins and I begin to back up behind a corner, waiting for the two men to clear.

"I fear that she may not walk again, Dice." The doctor says in a dejected way.

"Don't worry Doctor." The other man, Dice, speaks up. "Both of our teams have created something that fits perfectly for this scenario. I'm sure she'll be up and walking around in no time."

The two continue to talk as they walk farther and farther away from Weiss' room. I wait until I can no longer hear them and enter the room. Weiss is awake and propped up and eating some soup. I _Guess they don't want her throwing up after everything._

My heartbeat rises as I come closer and closer to the white-haired girl. She stops mid-bite and turns until I can see her whole face. Bandages and all. She looks depressed and broken. A body without a purpose now, a shell.

"Weiss," I say softly.

She stares at me for a moment before her dull blue eye begins gloss over, tears welling up and dripping over, running down her cheek and falling onto her lap. "It's you." She chokes out. "It really is you… Yang."

"Yeah, it's me," I say taking a seat on her bed and wiping the tears away with a thumb.

Weiss broke into a sob. "When I woke up the doctor told me you were here and that you might have left after hearing about the condition that I am in… I was so scared that… that you wouldn't come back."

"Well, I'm here." I press my lips on her forehead. "Through thick and thin."

Weiss gives me a big smile through the tears. "Thank you…"

I take my seat and hold Weiss' hand as she finishes up her soup. Every now and then her hand trembles, dropping the soup on to her napkin covered lap. She breathes in and out sharply, showing some frustration but mostly panic.

I squeeze her hand as comfort and ask if she needs me to help. She pridefully but respectfully says no and that I won't always be there to give her that helping hand. She's not wrong, but her words to hurt me a little. I can't baby her, but I also feel bad for leaving her to do her own things.

Eventually, Weiss finished her soup and lays back down. Slightly tuckered by her efforts to eat her food.

She's lost thought, staring blankly at the ceiling. She does this a lot and it leaves me wondering what she's thinking about behind those beautiful blue eyes.

"Yang… when you heard about the state that I am in. What were you thinking at the moment?" Weiss asks.

"I didn't really think about anything at that moment. It felt so unreal and I didn't want to believe that you can't…"

"Walk."

I squeeze her hand, showing how much emotion runs in me when hearing those words. Like a fat bitter pill you don't want swallow, but you have to because it will make you feel better or some dumb shit like that. If you swallow too many pills you will overdose and die. A double-edged sword

Like the truth.

You don't want to believe it, but once you do it'll make you feel better or leave a disgusting feeling inside you. The pill and the truth are the same things. Both can make you feel better or worse or better yet kill you. But humanity needs both of these things to survive. They are tools we can use to heal and nurse or destroy and burn down.

"Has the doctor talked about therapy yet?" I ask in a gentle tone.

Weiss shakes her head. "No, but he and Dice have a group people working some technology that helps in situations like these."

"Mm." I hum, showing that I'm listening. "And when do you get out of the hospital?"

No answer.

"Weiss?"

Again, no answer.

I turn to the snow white girl. Weiss' eye is closed, her chest heaves up and falls down slowly, nice and rhythmically. She quietly and easily fell back asleep.

 _Man. She must be really tuckered out. Weiss didn't sound tired a second ago. Poor girl can't stay awake for thirty minutes._ Then my mind wanders to what Weiss said a couple moments before falling asleep. _She mentioned new tech that can help the disabled. Something similar to what her stepdad said._

Though I'm skeptical about what that man has to say, I'll believe them for Weiss' sake. I pray that her stepdad isn't lying. For Weiss' sake and his safety.

I get a text from Ruby saying that I better get back and that the hotel is kicking us out in an hour. Even if I don't want to leave Weiss' side, I have to. Where would I stay? The hospital? At some point, they will kick me out and there is nothing Weiss can do to stop it.

 _Start packing up, Rubes. I'll be there in a couple of minutes._ I respond.

I gather up my duffle bag and give Weiss a kiss on the cheek before leaving. Making my way to the door something struck a chord inside my brain. _What if she gets the wrong idea. What if she thinks that I left her because she can't walk anymore? I can't do that Weiss. Agh!_

I'm torn on leaving or staying. Leaving gives Weiss a bad idea and staying leaves me all alone in Atlas with no money. I can't ditch out on the last days of school either. The people that have gotten injured have an excuse, but I don't. Then a nurse walks in and I get an idea.

"Excuse me," I say. "Do you have a piece of paper and a pen?"

"Yes."

The nurse leaves for a few minutes and comes with a pad of paper and pen. I thank the woman and take the tools and begin to write Weiss a note. Seeing that she has no phone or way for me to contact her, the note is the only option I have.

I tear the paper off and hand it to the woman. "Can you give this to her when she wakes up. I don't have any other way to contact her."

"I will ma'am." The nurse takes the note, folds it up and slips it into her pocket. "I promise."

"Thank you," I say. "You're a lifesaver."

I exit the room and not long after, the hospital. Still smelling sweaty and horrible from last nights fight, I quicken My pace once on the sidewalk. Hoping that I can get a shower in before getting back on a plane for a couple of hours. I don't want to sit in my own sweat any longer. Plus I need a change of clothes.

Every now and then I have to stop and every time I stop, I pick up the pace more soon after. Once two blocks away, I check my phone to see how much time I have left. Forty minutes which is more than enough for me.

I enter the hotel and head straight for the stairs, not bothering to acknowledge the elevators. After four flights of stairs, I'm on the third level and quickly making my way down the hall to the room.

I text Ruby, telling her to start the shower and open the door for me.

 _Okay_.

A few doors down, one opens and Ruby pops her head out. "You better hurry, Yang. You got a little more than thirty minutes."

"Don't worry," I say, sliding past my sister and beginning to strip off my shoes and sweats. "I don't take four million years in the shower like you do."

Ruby scoffs and shuts the door. I do the rest of my business in the bathroom get in the shower. All the sweat and grime slide all as I soak under the hot water. There is no time to waste standing under the water. With a quick wash of my body and hair, I get out and dry off. Throw on a fresh pair of clothes and pack up my dirty ones. Brush my teeth and comb my untameable blonde hair. All the normal stuff to do in a bathroom.

Ruby comes into the bathroom with a concerned look on her face. "Hey, Yang?"

I give her a finger, telling her to wait as I brush my teeth. I spit out the white foamy paste and rinse out my mouth. "Yeah, sis."

"Pyrrha wants to know how Jaune is doing."

I knew the inevitable would come, but I wish I had more time to prepare for it. I wish Pyrrha would be prepared for it too. But it's impossible for the girl negatively about things. Even if death is right at her or her friend's door, Pyrrha manages to stay positive. Now. Her positivity is about to be rudely disrupted by the truth.

The truth will always be a double-edged sword.

I sigh a heavy and sorrowful sigh. "Ruby, Jaune's… not with us anymore."

I hope she can understand what I mean. Saying that a fellow friend is dead could be too much for her. Babying her doesn't help, but Ruby hasn't had someone she cares about die. Of course, there was Amber, but Ruby didn't know her very well.

Ruby's sad face deeps, her face pales. "He's d… dead?"

I nod slowly and solemnly. "Yes."

Ruby's hands shake as she covers her mouth. "No… No. No. No!" She nearly cries out. "He can't be dead."

"He is… and we can't do anything about it." I'm careful with my word choice. I pull Ruby into a comforting hug. "The only thing we can do now is to be there for Pyrrha and the rest of our friends."

"But what about us?" Ruby sobs. "Who will comfort us, Yang? Weiss and Penny are still in the hospital."

"We have to be strong, Ruby," I say.

"Not everyone is like you, Yang." Ruby murmurs. "Not everyone can mask their emotions like you."

"I know, but you can at least be there for others," I say.

Ruby pulls away to look me in the eye. "But who will be there for me?"

"I will."

"Then who will be there for you?"

"Don't worry about me," I said before planting a kiss on top of Ruby's head. "I'll be fine."

There is a moment of silence before Ruby sinks back into my embrace, mumbling. "Lier."

After a couple of minutes of letting Ruby come to accept that Jaune is gone, we slowly begin to make our way out of the hotel room. I wish I could have told her at a different time because now she has to bury her emotions out in public. Ruby hates to cry in front of people and she hates letting her emotions fester and boil inside.

I tell Ruby not to mention Jaunes passing around Pyrrha until we get home and I explain to her everything.

Half of the reason why I tell her that is because I don't need Pyrrha shooting the message, not that that'll ever happen. But it's to protect Rubes as well. I don't her ex-girlfriend yelling at her about her long gone boyfriend. That would be too much for Rubes to handle.

Yes, I know I'm babying her again, but that's what big sisters do. They protect their younger siblings from the dangers of others.

"I'm… I'm sorry I told you so soon." I say shamefully.

"It's okay, Yang. I asked and you answered." Ruby says, giving me a soft smile. "It's like you said before; don't shoot the messenger."

We go down to the main lobby, meeting up with Blake, Ilia, and Pyrrha. Each has a sad expression on their faces. Who wouldn't though? We came to Atlas with ten friends and now we're only leaving with five. None of us say a word to each other when getting into taxies and heading off to the airport.

The only time we actually talked on the way home is when Ilia asks the group if we're hungry. We stopped at a little pizza place not far from our terminal.

We ate in silence. We waited in silence. We all kept to ourselves, mourning in our own way or trying to distract ourselves from the harsh truth.

Our flight is soon announced and we make our way into the line, waiting to get on and out of this city.

I always thought that my last time here at Atlas would be fun, but it ended up being a big fat mess that I want to erase from my mind as soon as possible. But that won't happen. I'll have a reminder of that day; that horrible, ungrateful and heart aching day. Weiss in a wheelchair will always remind me of that day.

We board and take our seats. Ruby gets the outside window. Thank the gods Pyrrha didn't sit next to us. Then Ruby turned to me asked a heart-stopping question.

"Who is going to tell Jaune's parents that he's not coming home?"

? PoV

The city of Atlas is a white lie. People come here in hopes of achieving their dreams. I've scoffed at that too many times.

 **Hope** What _a load of horse shit._ I thought as I eye the white-haired girl. The nurse shortly after me, to give the girl her daily checkup.

"She should be out in two weeks." The nurse says. "I wish I would have known a few ago though. A woman with blonde hair was in here."

My eyes flicker to the nurse, giving her a questionable glance. _Blonde hair? Could it be her? It can't be her. She's at beacon right now._

"She left a note for Miss Schnee." The nurse adds as she goes about her business. "Must have been her girlfriend."

I slip into deep thought for a moment. _She can't get any closer to this. Too many people have already been hurt over this girl. I'm not letting her get dragged into this._

"May I see the note," I say.

The woman is skeptical and hesitates. She has every right to do so. Just like I have every right to protect my daughter. The woman obliges and hands me the slip of paper. I read over the note and tuck in my back pocket. The woman begins to object and demands to give the piece of paper back.

"I'm not going anywhere for a long time," I say in a convincing way. "This is my daughter's girlfriend. I'm sure they both will be heartbroken if Miss Schnee doesn't get this note."

The nurse hesitated again. She then sighs in defeat and leaves the room. I wait for the minutes to tick, making sure no one else comes in.

Then I head to the window and pull out a lighter and the slip of paper. The window pops open and slides it up. Sticking out the paper and lighter, I flick my finger and a spark comes to life, now eating away at the message. The ashes fall from the window towards the ground.

"This is for your safety, Yang." I murmur.

The windows closed with a click and I exit the room.

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 **I proofread this chapter poorly. So if you see any mistakes I'm sorry. Hope you guys enjoyed. Like, comment, subscribe and leave some criticism. BYE!**


	33. Chapter 33

**Hey, I'm early... by like four hours. I'll take it anyway. I've got nothing much to say except the norm. Enjoy the chapter! or don't, either way is fine.**

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Weiss' PoV

When I woke I don't know how long it's been. The room is dark, cold and empty. No Yang. No Dice. Mother may not have the strength to see her little snow white in a hospital bed. I lay alone, bound to this bed for the next two weeks.

A tray sits next to me. Must be food. My stomach groans as if it hasn't eaten all day. Of course, I haven't eaten I've been asleep all day.

I stretch out my arms as best I can, but I'm short a couple of inches, my fingers simply wiggling in the hair trying to grab onto the tray. It's no use and I slump back in bed. I wish Yang could give me a helping hand right now.

Yang. Where is Yang?

I look back into my memories to try and think of the last thing she said to me. Therapy. She was talking to me about therapy before I fell asleep. Gods I felt weak and fragile when I first woke up. Now I feel the same as this morning expect hungrier and lonelier.

I wiggle over to the edge of the bed and reach once again. My fingers drum against the trays handle until I inch it forward enough for me to get a hand on it. A smile crosses my face I slowly pull it off the counter and reach over to slip a hand under it. The tray nearly topples out of my hands when the door opens and mother rushes over to me in a wild panic.

"Weiss Schnee." She cries out in a preposterous tone. "What do you think you're doing!?"

She snags the tray from my hands. "You could have dropped it!"

I give her the most annoyed look as she does so. All my hard work for nothing.

"I'm sorry." I huff, slumping back in my bed, crossing my arms and pouting ever so slightly. "But I am hungry and no one was around to help!"

All mother does is sigh and sets up the tray to hover over my legs. She then lifts up the cover and steam flows up in the air. The steam tells me the food is fresh and hot, ready to be eaten.

"The doctors do not want you consuming anything that will be hard to digest, so you will be eating soup until the end of next week." Mother informs.

The smell of chicken broth and the floating noodles is always welcoming to me, but since it's from the hospital kitchen, I'm skeptical as to what it will taste like.

My stomach groans again, more vigorously, begging me to eat. At first, I'm slow to start, but once the warm broth fills my mouth, I can't stop eating. Hospital food isn't that bad after all.

"Has Dice talked to you about the bionic braces his team is working on?" Mother asks, taking a seat on my bed.

I take my last bite of soup before leaning back in the bed. The only thought that comes to mind is that I ate too fast for my stomach. It does feel good to have a full belly now.

"Weiss?"

"Hm?"

"Has he talked to you about the braces?"

"No." If Dice talked to me about robotic leg braces than I would surely remember it. "He did tell me he has been working on something. That must be it."

Mother eyes my sheet covered legs. She lays a hands on one of them and sighs deeply. I can't feel her touch. I can't feel anything in my lower back and legs as a matter of fact. This is the first time someone has touched my legs. And being unable to feel them has me realizing how real and terrifying my situation is.

A soft sniffle fills the air. It's quiet enough to miss if I weren't so focused on mother's tear-filled eyes.

"I'm sorry." She whispers. "I'm sorry, baby girl."

I've never seen mother act this way. I've seen her torn down. she's always built herself back up and stronger than before though. But I've never seen her so… broken and defeated. It scares me more as to how badly my condition is.

I rest a hand on mother's for comfort. She looks at me with watery eyes.

A weak smile is all I can give. "It's going to be okay."

I thought the encouraging and comforting words would help, but it doesn't seem to help. Mother breaks down in tears, burying her head in my chest, her arms wrapped tightly around me.

"I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry." She continues to apologize through sobs.

I wanted to say something to comfort her, but the last time I said something comforting didn't go so well. So I simply wrap my arms around Mother as a sign. Allowing her to cry until she has no more tears left to cry.

After mother cried out her soul, Dice came in. He waited patiently for mother to stop crying then he excoriated her out of the room saying that he needed to talk to me privately.

The door closed, leaving mother outside and Dice in. I have mixed feelings about my stepfather right now. He did overreact to one of my friends being a Faunus and did kick my friends out of my house, but didn't cause the accident or my friends' injuries. So why do I feel the need to blame for all of this? I suppose it's human nature. That you must point the finger of blame at someone to feel less guilty about your own mistakes.

Dice pulls up a chair, having the same sad and drowned out look like everyone else. "I'm sorry to be the one that has to tell you this, but… you are no longer allowed to see Yang anymore."

I'm rocked to the core by those words. So many questions fill my head and I hope to get an answer for each one of them. If not then my trust in Dice will falter. "Why?" I waste no time asking. The assault of questions has begun.

"I can't tell you."

"That's not a good enough, Dice," I growl. I suppose my true emotions for my stepfather has shown now. "Tell me. I'm can handle it."

He's silent for a moment, mulling over his thought, sifting through his words. "Her friend, the yellowed tailed one is a Faunus. The other night when you were hit, a Faunus, a used to be _white fang_ member, sat in the driver's seat."

He's lying, hiding the true reason. Dice was never is a good lier. Though I've always let his lies slides, always thinking it was for my own safety, but not this time. I want answers pertaining as to why I can't see my girlfriend.

I scoff. "You're making an assumption that Sun is connected to the Faunus behind the wheel. He's not. So what is the real reason?"

"That is the real reason,"

"You're not the best liar, Dice. Just tell me the truth."

"The truth?!" He growls low enough to make me wince. "The truth is that you were blind enough to stay the girl after you found out that her mother was a gang boss or whatever. And that Faunus was apart of her gang before getting himself killed."

Surprise wells up inside and a new flood of questions arise in the argument. How did he find out about Yang's Mom? Why does he know about Yang's mom?

Before asking any of my newfound questions, Dise already begins to answer. "James told me everything. He told that Qrow was given false information about me, saying that I would sell my own daughter to some sickos and low lives who drew on the side of downtown Vacuo." His teeth grit together. "Qrow believed that I was going to trade you for my son…" there is a long drawn out moment of silence. "Raven must have given him false information just to throw herself off the trail."

My lips pushed into a thin line. "And you think Yang is connected to this as well."

He mulls for a moment. "I'm taking some precautions to protect my daughter."

 _Daughter? You're not my real dad. You're just a terrible fill for the once living, breathing and caring man that can proudly have the title of father in my life._ I wanted so badly to say those words to him. I wanted him to hear my anger, to feel my rage and pain for the fact that he is holding me back from someone who truly cares and loves me. And will continue to love me with or without the ability to walk.

Dice gets up to leave, but not before giving me a few last words. "If you even think or try to run to Miss Xiao-Long, I'll have her arrested for kidnapping."

A threat keeping me on a leash. A threat that is keeping me from escaping my prison at home.

Anger boiled over and I screamed. "YOU'RE NOTHING BUT A FUCKING COWARD!"

Dice didn't acknowledge my outburst and left the room which made me more angry that I did not get a reaction from the man who so happily calls himself my father, my guardian, my protector.

The minutes ticked by and I was still seething with anger. So much anger that I couldn't release until the tears began to trickle down my face. Another blood-curdling scream rips through my throat.

The tears damped the bandage that covers my scared eye. It became itchy and irritated and being blinded by anger I ripped the thing off not knowing that I opened up the still healing skin. Warmblood either stuck to my face or dripped from the side of it, staining the white hospital robe.

I did nothing to stop it. Of course, there isn't enough blood loss for me to bleed out, but I do not know how long I sat there until a nurse walked into check on me. She gasped out of fright when seeing my bloody face.

I turned to her thinking that I could see out of both of them. But the realization is far greater than my hoping and praying. I have gone blind in my left eye. Nothing but an inky blackness came from it.

The nurse scrambled to a phone and called for assistance. Two other nurses came to help. I laid back in my bed as they did their work. One disinfecting my cut, another getting fresh bandage, and one nurse scolded me like childing, saying that I should be more careful or that I could have some serious damage.

"What could be worse than this." I murmur. The nurse, of course, brought up several cases there are in fact worse than mine.

"That's not what I meant." A harsh growl rips through my throat. "You have no idea what I've been through."

I'm annoyed the nurse's ignorance. That's what I told myself at the moment, but in all honesty, I wanted to take my anger out on someone. The nurse just happened to be here at the wrong time.

The nurses work quickly and quietly until I'm covered up then they scramble out of the room. I can hear them murmuring and mumbling things about me. I don't care about how they portray me anymore. I'll be leaving in two weeks, although I wish I were leaving sooner. This place already has too many foul memories that I want to forget. These next two weeks will be long and withering for me.

Day after day, I ate at the respected breakfast, lunch and dinner times and had some small talk with the nurses. Night after night mother would come to visit, but Dice didn't dare show his face. Mother says he's busy with work and other… bothersome essentials. I hope to be one of those bothersome essentials. Something that he has to think about constantly. Someone that is always on his mind. Another person he has to deal with.

My new found hate for the man does nothing to him. Dice will keep his promise to keep me away from Yang for as long as I live. And as soon as I figured that out, my new found hate slipped into a deep depression. Realizing that I will never see Yang again makes my heart ache everytime I think about her.

By the time I leave the hospital, I'm a hollow shell. A broken body with a broken soul.

Klein pushes me out the car where two nurses wait to help me in. I'm lifted from the chair and slipped into the car with ease and that cursed thing is put in the back. Klein thanks the two for the assistance even if they did nothing.

I buckle in myself in. _At least I'm not totally useless._

Klein gets in and starts the car. He's polite enough to give me a warning when pulling out of the hospital. "There will be a few bumps along the way home, Miss Schnee."

I grip the door handle, sit showing signs of how uncomfortable I am in the car. Klein pulls out and we head home.

There is no warm welcome when I arrive home. There is no grant party to signify my welcome or my well being. The manor is cold and quiet and lonely as it always is. Klein takes me up to my room and asks if there anything else he can do for me.

"Where is mother?" I ask lazily.

"She is out with Dice," I grunt at the name. "And will be home shortly. Is there anything else I can do."

I think for a moment. "Yes. Draw a bath and get my phone, please. I need to talk to someone."

Klein draws the bath then gets my phone. I'm lucky I left it here by accident instead of taking it. The phone is almost dead though, but I am grateful it has a little battery. I text Yang telling her that I have arrived home and am on the road to recovery.

"Will that be all, ma'am?" Klein asks as he pushes me into the bathroom.

I eye the steaming water for a moment. _It will be hard for me to get out of the water, I need to wash off and there is no way I will be able to take a shower in my condition._ I rake through my thoughts to find a solution. _I suppose a swimsuit isn't a bad idea. But how would I get it on?_

"Klein is Winter here?"

"No Miss Schnee."

"Worth a try." I sigh under my breath. "Can you get a swimsuit."

"A swimsuit?"

"Yes."

Klein does not question me anymore and gets my swimwear. A two-piece which what I'm thankful for. I tell Klein to wait outside and that if I need help I'll ask for it. The door closes, telling me that I'm free to change.

"Now I deeply wish I had a helping hand from Yang," I say to no one.

I begin to strip myself which doesn't take as long as I had initially thought, though it was a pain to take off the clothing on my legs. Wiggling and worming my clothes off seemed to be compared to putting on my swimsuit.

No need to go into details about how I got dressed, but I did within a not so reasonable time. Nearly an hour. The bad part is that the water is mildly warm and hardly steaming. I need to get in now if I want to enjoy the warm sensation on my skin.

I call for Klein to come in and help me in. He rolls up his sleeves and scoops me up. A lot of weight has been lost since my depression arose as well as being stuck in the hospital for so long. I may gain it back after reconnecting with Yang over the phone. There is nothing Dice can do about that… right?

Klein sets me on the edge of the tub and throws my legs up, over and gently letting them sink to the bottom. like the inky blackness in my eye, I feel nothing in my legs. A blank feeling is all I know. I grip his arm and guide myself into the water. Warm water runs over my body, up to my chest.

Klein waits for me to settle in before leaving, being replaced by my mother I assume. I am still unable to see due to the bandaged eye and missing glasses. She says nothing and does nothing except keep an eye on me as I soak in the now barely steaming water. Mother then speaks up.

"Dice told me about Yang's mother." Her words flat and meaningless. "He also told me you called him the eff word and a coward."

 _I'm only speaking the truth._ That's what I wanted to say, but mother doesn't need to feel my wrath. She's has already been put through a lot in her lifetime and I don't need to add to it.

"He told me I couldn't see Yang anymore." Unlike Mother's flat words, mine are sharp and cut through hers. "He told me I couldn't see the one person that loves me while being treated in the hospital. Who does that? I am already in a bad physical state. Why don't you add emotionally unstable on top of that as well."

Being physical impaired and emotionally unstable has disaster written all over it. Mother knows that. She knows that better than I do. I pray that she'll do something about it. I hope she can be the voice for me. If anyone can reason with Dice it's her and she'll do it because she would do anything for me.

"How are you feeling?" She asks changing the subject.

I don't bother trying to change the subject again. At some point, it will fall into place and then I'll give her the idea to talk to Dice. For now, I'll take the bait.

"I feel nothing in my lower legs and I can't see out of my left eye," I reply, trying to get in a better upward position, but I always slide back down.

"It's still healing." Mother says with reassurance. "When those bandages come off I'm sure you'll be able to see as clear as day."

"Still have bad eyesight," I grumble. The words come out a bit harsher than I wanted and I bite my tongue for it.

"Maybe it's time we get you laser surgery." She thought out loud.

"I would rather not go back to the hospital for a while, Mother," I say. "Maybe after all of this blows over, I might consider it. But, for now, I would like to focus on one thing at a time."

Mother agrees but does not say anything afterward. I wash my hair with ease, but mother helps when being rinsed off. My bandages are soaked which makes them useless, but I suppose you could have guessed that. Mother gently removed them and threw them away. I kept my eyes closed so mother could dab the water out with a cloth. The water is drained and mother calls Klein to help me out of the tub. It didn't take long for him to help me out.

"I see why you wanted to wear the swimsuit, Miss Schnee," Klein says. "Smart thinking."

Mother allows Klein to take me as she gets my robe and wraps it around me. Klein then gently sits me in the chair and pushes me out to my open room. Looking at it now makes me wish it wasn't so big. The room may give me much space to move, but I may have too much space to move. Everything is spread out and far from my bed. Moving from my bed to the wheelchair until Dice's little experiments get here will be hard. Not to mention the therapy I'll go to for next couple of days.

Realizing that I'm stuck until next school basically. I won't say bye to all my friends before summer vacation starts which has me in a sad mood. I'll miss seeing Yang walk across the stage to get a college degree in… Come to think of it, I never found out what Yang went to college for. It must be for boxing or mix martial arts or something along the lines of her punching something.

Then my thoughts spiraled a bit out of control when thinking of Yang. Misery swells in my chest at the thought of the blonde brute who teased, tickled, joked, played, kissed, and hugged me is gone. I'll never get to see her in the flesh because of the selfish man who thinks he is protecting me.

 _What a load of crap,_ I growl in my own thoughts. _He's doesn't know Yang nor has he met her, so he has no right to judge the girl._ My miserable heart is filled with hate quickly after. _And on top of that, he threatens to have her arrested if I see her. I hope karma slaps him in the face. HARD!_

"You're thinking about something." Mother chimes.

Her voice snaps me back to reality. I've dozed off for some time that I didn't' feel Klein and mother move me to the bed.

"So," The woman takes a seat on my bed and begins to braid my wet hair. "What were you thinking."

Should I tell her the truth? Should I tell her that Dice made a stupid mistake and threatens to arrest my girlfriend if I snuck out to her house? It's impossible to get Yang's house without working legs anyway. Maybe I can tell her I need someone to support me and Yang could come. Would she get in trouble for that though?

"You're thinking again." Mother snickers. She taps my forehead playfully, asking what's going on inside my head.

I nibble on the inside of my cheek. "Is it possible for Yang to come here?"  
Mother is silent for a moment. "I don't know, sweetheart. If Dice finds out that Yang could be here, things may not end well."

She gets up to get me some clothes and them down the bed. Mother then informs me that Klein will be serving me dinner in the bedroom before she leaves me alone in the dark.

My thoughts fall back to Yang. _Changing in and out of my clothes would be a lot easier if Yang were here to help._

I push my legs over the side of the bed and scooch the rest of my body over. Slipping off my robe and bikini top, I put on my bra and a baggy shirt. Now for the hard part. I quickly dispose of the bottoms and slip on my underwear. It's hard getting my lifeless feet through the leg holes then past my thighs, but I do. Then came the super hard part. The sweatpants. Though I have a trick for putting on the pants easier, it doesn't do much.

I scrunch up one pant leg and try to lift my foot up in it, but I'm giving myself false hope. Using one finger to lift up my toes, I use my spare hand hold the loop up, I put the foot through the loop. I repeated the process with my other leg until the sweats sat nicely around my feet. Then I pull my pants up and lean forward.

The problem is that I lean forward too much and I'm sent to the cold hard floor. My right shoulder got the worst of it. Pain shoots up and down my arm causing me to yelp in agony. Rolling onto my back to get off my shoulder as quickly as possible, I try to use my upper body to get back up.

It's no use.

Now I'm a heap of flesh on the floor. A miserable heap of useless flesh with no purpose. All I am now is a waste of space and time. What would Yang think of me if she saw me like this _?_ My mind turned to the darkest of thoughts. _She would call me worthless. A true waste of her time._

A tear trickled down my face. "I am a worthless heap of nothing. I am less than nothing."

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 **The girl needs a hug. She needs one big hug. Anyway, hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. Leave some criticism, it helps. Like, comment, subscribe and I'll see you guys next time. BYE!**


	34. Chapter 34

**So, um... Lovely day ain't it. Um... yeah, enjoy the chapter and I'll see you at the bottom. or not, that's okay too.**

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Yang's PoV

It's been two weeks since I told Pyrrha about Jaune. The memory is so clear that I'll never get it out of my head. The way she looked. How she sounded. All of it was pure misery and grieving. Her entire being ebbed that feeling for days. Pyrrha was no longer the happy and positive person we all know and love. She's been broken by life itself.

" _Did you find out about Jaune?" Pyrrha asks. It's the first thing she said when we got off the plane._

 _Ruby overheard Pyrrha question and eyes me. I sigh and turn to the redhead. "I would rather not tell you here in public, Pyrrha. It's… it's pretty bad."_

 _I instantly bite my tongue in regret._ This is worse than ' _pretty bad'._ This is horrible! It's terrible! _I thought._ Now I've given her false hope that Jaune is still alive.

 _Ruby and I take her, Blake and Ilia back to our penthouse, away from the eyes of the public. I don't want to cause a scene in front of everyone._

 _We sit them down on the couch. I stand in front of them knowing that I'm the only one who can tell them. Everyone in this room deserves to know what happened to their friend and as a fellow friend, I have to tell them. I can't hide it any longer._

 _With a heavy sigh, I begin to explain. "Our friends have gotten in a serious accident, But you all already know this. What you guys want to know is how they are doing. Ruby has told me that Sun should be back at school within a week or so, Neptune will follow shortly behind. We don't know how long Penny will be. Weiss will be gone for the rest of the school year and…" I swallow hard, once again choosing my words wisely. "Jaune isn't coming home." I croak. It's hard to hold back the emotions now that I've said. I reality of it all is hitting me now._

" _What do you mean Jaune isn't coming home?" Pyrrha asks. Her voice wavers like a ship in a storm. She has a storm of emotions inside her, I can tell._

" _Pyrrha… Jaune is… dead." It took every ounce in my body, all my emotions, all of my strength, to say those words. I didn't dare look Pyrrha in the eye._

 _Not a word came from any of the girls. They sat in silence mulling, thinking, reflecting on what I said. Or they can't comprehend that fact that one of our well-known friends are gone and are never coming back. Pyrrha is the first to move. She gets up from the couch and walks towards the elevator. She doesn't look back or say another word to us. We could all hear her heart shatter into pieces though._

A piece of me wants to blame myself for inviting my friends to Atlas, but none of us knew what would happen. None of us could have planned for something like this. But a piece of me still thinks it's my fault for letting my friends get hurt. There is no way I could have stopped a wreck, though I feel like I could have done something anyway.

I've barely come out of my room now. My thoughts are always on Weiss now and what she's going through. Two weeks and still no words from my girlfriend. The worst thoughts come to mind. _What she fell into a coma or she has amnesia? What if the nurse forgot to give my note to her and she thought I left her and is torn. What if she doesn't want to see me anymore._ That's the worse one that I can think of. Then all my thoughts, all my doubts were washed away when I got one simple text from her.

 _Hey, Yang. I got out of the hospital today and am starting my recovery process soon. I'll talk to you soon. Love you. Bye._

I read the message over and over again. Every time I read it my smile would widen with joy. Her message completely burned out my bad thoughts. Then I send her a quick message back. _Okay, babe. Glad to hear you're out of the hospital. I'll come to visit once school is over. I love ya, princess._

I sigh happily after sending the message and get up to prepare for the day. A Saturday which explains why I'm still in bed and scrambling to get ready for school. it's the weekend. Ruby is already in the kitchen making breakfast. Bacon and eggs as always. Usually, I would be in a downhearted mood, but today I come out with a big smile on my face.

"Hey, Ruby!" I practically cheer.

The brunette turns and eyes me for a moment. "What happened to you in the last twenty-four hours?"

"I just got a next from Weiss," I exclaim. "She just got out of the hospital today and will be in the recovery process very soon."

Ruby gives me a faint smile. "At least one good thing has come one of this." She turns back around the stove and continues to cook.

I wince realizing my mistake. Hearing about Weiss leaving the hospital may have put Ruby in a sad mood now knowing that she hasn't heard anything about Penny yet. I head over to my little sis to see if I can cheer her up a little, but when I draw closer I can hear sniffles coming from the younger girl.

I rest a hand on her shoulder. "Hey. Hey, it's okay," I say in a gentle tone. "Penny will be okay, Ruby. She's just as strong as the rest of us. She'll make it."

"I know she's strong, Yang." Ruby whimpers, turning to me. Her silver eyes are glost over with tears. "But I don't know if I'm strong enough."

"Oh, Ruby," I wrap an arm around the little brunette. "It's okay." I can tell her it's okay all I want, but Ruby will never believe those words. So I come up with a plan.

"I tell you what."

"What?"

"We cancel our plans for the day. I'll go out and two big buckets of our favorite ice cream and all the junk we can eat then we can sit around all day watching movies together. How does that sound?" I ask with a bright smile.

Ruby stares off into deep space for a long moment, pulling her thoughts together. "Okay."

In my head, I pump my fist in the air. Big sis to the rescue.

"After we eat breakfast, okay. Because I don't want to waste the bacon or the eggs." Ruby adds quickly before I dash off.

"You're right," I say reaching for two plates. "Which is why I have these."

Ruby slips some bacon on them and then adds some scrambled eggs. I ask if she put salt and pepper on them. In return, Ruby gave a sarcastic reply that made me chuckle a little. We sit down and eat. It's been awhile since we've sat down together and eaten, ruby and I.

We would have breakfast in the cafeteria with friends or Weiss would join us for breakfast in the penthouse. The last time we have truly eaten together was when we were going to signal back in Patch. It reminds me of the good old days.

"Do you plan on visiting Weiss?" Ruby asks.

"Totally," I reply, then quickly adding. "I'll check up on how Penny is doing while I'm up there too. Who knows maybe she'll come back before then so I don't have to." Hopefully, I'm seeing the right stuff to make Ruby feel better instead of worse.

"Yeah, hopefully," Ruby says softly.

After eating breakfast, I gather tons of blankets and pillows and put them on the couch while Ruby cleans her mess up in the kitchen. I set up the t.v. to where we can watch some cheesy scary movies off the internet before heading out to get some buckets of ice cream. Ruby takes her rightful seat in the middle of the couch and swaddles herself up in blankets.

"What kind of ice cream do you want," I ask.

"Chocolate chip cookie dough," Ruby exclaims. "That's the best kind."

"Sure," I playfully rolled my eyes. "And mom isn't a police officer."

The brunette sticks out her tongue as I step on the elevators. I wave goodbye before the doors close.

I buy the biggest tubs of chocolate chip and rocky road ice cream I can find. Besides the big tubs of ice cream, I buy some chips and snacks for later. Just in case if Ruby wants something salty after having a sugar rush for the whole day. At the counter though, the cashier gave me a weird look for buying so much junk food.

"Breakup," I say dumbly. The cashier gives me a sympathetic smile and continues to snack the stuff.

I quickly leave the store, one: so I don't embarrass myself more and two: So the ice cream doesn't turn into liquid goo. It's mostly for the first one though.

It doesn't take long for me to arrive home with all the junk food on earth. If mom and dad saw us now I'm one hundred percent sure they would kick both of our asses for wasting money on junk like this. They would give us long lectures about how we should take of our bodies as well.

With curtains closed, light off, and the sound of old dramatic screaming in the background, I could tell that Ruby has already started a movie without me.

"Hey! You started without me!" I call out. Ruby yelps in surprise and scrambles for the remote. I snicker watching her scramble around like a child who got caught stealing a cookie from the jar.

"Yang!" Ruby cries, throwing a loose blanket off her head. "Don't do that."

I set the food down and put the ice cream away for later than rush over and tackle the girl, flatting her. Ruby yelps again when my body crashes into hers. We wallow around until we both end up rolling off the couch landing on the hard floor with a heavy thump.

"And she is out for the count!" I cry with gusto. "Ladies and gentlemen Ruby Rose's winning streak is over with a big move by Yang Xiao-Long!" Once again Ruby is under me, squirming to get out.

"Get off!" Ruby swings a puny fist that strikes me in the gut. It does little to no effect on me.

I snatch a pillow off the couch and begin to narrate my own actions. "Oh my, I can't believe my eyes! It looks like Xiao-long is showing no mercy to the little rose and is beating her to death with a pillow."

Ruby grabs a pillow of her own and joins in on the fun. "But it looks like the little rose isn't going down without a fight!"

We swing and batter each other with pillows, not knowing that Blake has stopped by to visit.

"Um… What are you two- Oof!" The raven-haired girl didn't finish her question. Ruby had thrown a pillow at her face.

She gives us both a grumpy face before picking a pillow and charged at Ruby. "You asked for it!"

"Yeah!" I cheer, scooping up as many pillows as I can. "Teach her a lesson, Blake!"

As the two girls tussle on the floor, I come over and drop all the pillows on them before fall onto them myself. Myself on Blake and her on Ruby. One big pillowy dogpile.

"UGH! You two are so… heavy." Ruby gasps. The poor girl can barely move let alone breathe.

I cringe a little but stay upbeat. "Stay on her, Blake," I command.

Gathering up the snacks from the kitchen, Blake begins a conversation with the girl under her. I don't pay attention to the conversation because all I can hear coming from that demon of a cat's mouth is betrayal. They plan to double-team me once I set down the snacks, but I've found a loophole in their tactics.

I plop down on the couch and pop open a bag of Cheeto puffs, keeping my wall of snacks close, and begin to eat.

Both of them look at me dumbly. "You can't do that!" Ruby cries out, throwing Blake off of her with this new found Hercules strength.

No attention is paid to her as I continue to turn the movie back on and watch the cheesy black and white movie. The woman continues to scream in horror as the world's slowest zombie give chase. I give the movie a sympathy chuckle for its efforts of being scary.

Blake plops down next me with a pillow and blanket in hand. Wrapping herself up and begins to dig into the Cheeto Puffs. Ruby takes the right side and begins to eat the cheesy snack with us.

We sit together and watch our old cheesy scary movies together.

Around the halfway mark, I get up to collect the ice cream from the fridge, three spoons, and some napkins just in case if Ruby decides to make a mess of things. Sitting back down and handing them their spoons, we dig in. Knowing that Ruby will easily finish the ice cream on her own and has no interest in sharing, I split my ice cream with Blake.

We take a short intermission to stretch our legs, talk, tell jokes, and criticize the movie.

That when my phone rings again. Another message from Weiss.

A dumb broad smile crosses my face. Both Blake and Ruby notice and ask why I'm smiling like an idiot. A simple look at the phone gives them their answer.

"Well answer it, dummy!" Ruby cheered, shaking my shoulder.

"Okay, okay!" I tap on the screen and open the phone. Excitement bobbles up my chest as I do. "Oh, I can't wait to…" every bubble of excitement inside pops in seconds when my eyes scan the message.

 _Dice says I can't be with you anymore because he thinks Raven was part of the car wreck. I'm under house arrest until therapy is over and will have some dumb machine strapped to my legs for the rest of my life. I wish you were here right now. I could really use that helping hand._

 _No… NO!_ I wanted to scream. I wanted to yell until my throat was sore and raw. I wanted… I wanted Weiss right here next to me. Not miles and miles away, suffering in her room, in a cag. Her stepdad can't do this and who put the idea in his head that my mother was behind all of this? What gives him the right to point fingers away from his own cruel deal? And I'm not going to listen to daddy dearest if he treats my girl like an animal, a dog that he thinks needs to be kept on a leash.

Well, he's about to have a rude awakening coming from me personally.

Blake can see the pain and anger on my face. Scooting closer, she asks, "What did she say, Yang."

"Is it something bad?" Ruby adds.

I'm silent. Rubbing my thumb over the smooth glass, I let myself think for a moment. "Dice has placed the blame on my mom and has Weiss under house arrest."

Both girls are quiet, allowing themselves to take in the information. "Isn't that a little extreme." Ruby winces.

"Yes."

"Are you going to reply?"

"Yes."

 _I don't care about what your step-dad says,_ Weiss. I begin. _I'm coming to see you and nothing will stop me from doing so._ I send the message and get a quick reply.

 _He'd figure you would try and come to see me, but Dice threatens to have you arrested for coming anywhere near me._

 _I don't care if he arrests me for stepping on his fancy grass. I'm coming and he's petty threats are not going to stop me._

I watch the dots load and fade, load and fade. Weiss is struggling to give me an answer, I can tell.

 _Please don't, Yang. I know you can do some stupid stuff sometimes, but please, please! Don't get yourself in trouble for me. I don't need you to be locked up in jail when I need you the most._

 _I can't leave you there, Weiss!_ Another short moment of waiting for Weiss to respond.

 _I know you can't, but I just need you to trust me. There might be someone who can help us._

Questions arise in my head. I don't force any of these questions on Weiss; I only give her a simple reply. _Okay, I trust you._

I slouch against the couch, sighing, though I don't know if it is out of frustration or out of relief. Today has just been an emotional roller coaster that I hope will slow to a stop with the help of some crappy old movies.

"Hey," Blake rests a hand on my shoulder. "Are you going to be okay?"

I nod slowly. "Yeah… I wish I could say the same for Weiss."

"That poor girl," Ruby mutters. "The next time I see her I'm going to give her the biggest hug ever."

A small smile cracks my grim look. "Not unless I beat you to it, sis!"

Blake chimes in. "When will you be able to see her?"

My smile drops. "I don't know…. "

For the rest of the day I try to occupy my mind from thinking about Weiss and how she's doing, but it's no use. My mind is crawling with memories of her, of Weiss. There is no way I can get her out of my head, it's like a comfort zone for me. When she isn't here I think about her. When she is here I think about all of the words to describe her. Snow White or pocket princess would be the first thing that comes out my mouth. Just for teasing purposes though.

Once finishing the old black and white movies, none which can I remember, we clean up our pile of empty bags, wrappers, and tubs that are ready to be thrown away. Blake and Ruby pick the blankets and pillows and return them to their original place whether it's on the couch or in the closet. When finished, everything looked nice and organized as it should be.

After Blake said her goodbyes, Ruby and I start to make dinner. Well, it's more of her making the food and me just being a helping hand. Like setting the table or getting some spice that she can't reach. Ruby used to not ask for me to get something for her especially if it's on the top shelf. She always says she can do it herself then proceed to get a stool and do it which I think is pretty funny.

I remember back in Patch when Ruby was coming into her teen years, she would always brag about getting taller than me. That I would have to ask for her help and not the other way around. When she didn't, I teased her about it. I remember her pouting and crying for days.

Sometimes Ruby will joke about it as well, but most of the time, when I bring it up, she'll get annoyed or embarrassed and will try to shut me up before I can spill any more beans. What can I say? When you're the older sibling you do whatever you can to embarrass your younger siblings.

"So…" Ruby drags out the word. "What did Weiss tell you?"

Another thing about younger siblings is that they always want to know what's going on in your life and if you don't tell them they'll bother you until the day you die. But what is happening between me and Weiss may be a bit too personal and may need to be kept between her and I. Then again this is Ruby. The one person who is always there for me even when no one else is. She's my litoral best friend and best friends tell each other everything. I decided against it though. If Ruby finds out that I'm going to see Weiss and could possibly get arrested for it then I don't want her to know about it at all.

"I would rather not tell you about it," I say. "There are some things in our conversation that are too personal."

"So when _will_ you tell me."

"When everything blows over."

"When will that be?"

"Don't know." I shrug.

For now, I'll keep everything Weiss has told me on the down low. Ruby doesn't need to know, Blake doesn't need to know. No one needs to know about this. If any of my friends find out that I'm being threatened than they unleash hell… or maybe not. They would be pissed that's for sure.

We eat dinner in silence. There isn't much to talk about any way except for the lazy Saturday we had. It was fun to hang out with Blake today. Ever since Ilia and her started dating, Blake hasn't had as much time to hang out with us anymore like in the old days. Back when the three of us would have sleepovers and get into trouble at school. I those simple days.

I tell Ruby that I'm turning in early as she hops back on the couch and continues to watch movies. As the older sibling, I tell her not to stay up too late. And as the younger sibling, Ruby simply sticks her tongue out at me.

The bed may be warm, but it's lonely without my little princess next to me.

 _Weiss._

Gods, I miss her so much.

For the last couple days, I've trying so hard to distract myself from the reality of it all. She going to be stuck in a wheelchair or have some weird device strapped to her legs for Remnant's sake and I simply refuse to comprehend the fact that she is. And the more I think about the condition she's in the more I want to help. But how is a poor blonde girl who can barely support herself supposed to help?

I've been restless and refuse to tell Ruby that for the last couple of night have only been power naps for my body. Heck, I drink coffee sometimes to keep myself awake and moving. Coffee tastes like sorrow and sad souls by the way.

My fingers brush over the empty spot where Weiss would lay. It's cool and I'm close enough to smell the lingering scent of her shampoo. My heart throbs and aches for the poor girl.

I can't say it enough, but I miss her. I miss her so damn much. I need her like a drug addict needs his fix. Weiss is my fix.

"Weiss…. "I mutter. It's become hard to hide my emotions know. My fingers clench the sheets of where she used to lay as a single tear rolls down my face. "I'm sorry."

* * *

 **Gotta some lightheartedness in while I still can. Putting that aside, I feel like Yang would hide her emotions from Ruby mostly because Ruby has always seen Yang as a strong person and a bit of an idol. So seeing your idol break down can be hard on you. That's just my opinion so don't flip a table or get mad. Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter and leave some criticism. Like, comment, subscribe, and I'll see you next time! Or not, that's fine too. BYE!**


	35. Chapter 35

**So I've decided that after I finish up the story, I'll go back and clean up the chapters. the story will stay the same else except for the dyslexic like grammar. I say that because I have it. Anyway, that's not the point. The point is that I made thirty-five chapters of good/bad writing that you guys love/like or don't hate which I appreciate. I love the pointers that you guys give me and all the feedback and... well everything. So thank you guys for being great people and enjoy the chapter! Or not, that's fine too!**

* * *

Weiss' PoV

It's been four weeks since I've left the hospital. It's been four weeks of being trapped in my room and chained to my bed. Four weeks of falling repeatedly, struggling, and pain. Lots of pain. Four weeks that always ended in tears. Today will be different though. Today will be much worse. Today is the day I start therapy. Lovely.

Klein woke me up and served me breakfast. I'm glad he didn't say a word about how terrible I looked or how I looked in general. Ever since I've left the hospital, the nightmares have been appearing every night when I sleep. Some of _him_ and some the wreck. the dreams being in so much detail that it just made me sick on the inside.

I would wake up screaming with a cold sweat covering my body. One of the maids or butlers would come running. They'd ask what's wrong, but I would never tell. "It's just a bad dream." I'd reply weakly, never going into details. The servants never pushed to question me and I am glad.

For rest of the night, I'd lay in bed with the lamp on. It's somewhat of a comfort for me. To be able to see through the dark when waking. To show that no monsters are truly out prowling around in your room. If only the light would get rid of the monsters in my head.

"How did you sleep, Miss Schnee?" Klein asks when setting up the tray of food for me.

"Better." Lying has become part of me now. It's something I've been doing through the process of it all. I suppose the only person that I don't lie to is Mother. She's the only one that needs to hear the truth.

"Willow is wondering if you'd like some company this morning."

"Yes, please." I plead. "It's so boring being cooped up in my room all day with no one to talk to."

Klein chuckled softly. "Then I'll send her right in."

"There's no need, Klein." Willow calls from the doorway. "I've already sent myself in."

Klein smiles and bows to mother before leaving us. She takes a seat on the bed next to me, fluffing up my pillow which allows me to sit up more comfortably. "How have you been?" Mother asks.

I push out a short sigh. "Okay, I suppose. Though it would be better if it weren't so lonely up here." Hoping my words will lead her into my trap.

But mother is always keen and doesn't fall for it. "I understand you're lonely which is why I've invited someone special to come and see us today." My eyes widen as a hundred thoughts rush through my head like a river. Is it Yang? Did mother bring Yang up here? That's impossible! "He'll be up here in just a moment."

I knew I shouldn't have gotten my hopes up so quickly about Yang coming so soon. She hasn't graduated yet and I highly doubt mother has talked to Dice since my arrival.

"This man better not be my therapist," I grumble. "He'll be just as boring as having no one here to talk."

"What was that about boring people?" A thick raspy voice calls. I know that voice from anywhere and a smile on my face.

I peek past mother and see him standing in the doorway. His back hunched using a cane for support, his hair a light grey and white. A wrinkled face and warm smile that no one can beat… except for Yang maybe.

Grandfather.

I push the tray of food aside and throw the blankets off my legs, preparing to bolt over to him. But I can't. After grandfather had fallen ill, I haven't been able to see him. And now that he's here I can't get up to give him a simple hug.

Grandfather hums and shuffled over to my side. He rests a wrinkled hand on mother, telling her to give us some alone time. She complies and leaves, letting Grandfather take her seat.

"So I've heard that you've gotten too old for walking now." He says with a light chuckle. I smile to give him some satisfaction. "What have you been up to these days?"

I shrug. "Nothing much. Just sitting in bed waiting for someone to rescue me."

"Have you tried reading?"

"I've read every book you have ever given me, grandfather and I've enjoyed each of them in a different way."

"Well, I'm glad my little snow angel enjoys my gifts." Enjoy may be an understatement but I don't correct him on it. "And what about this other person you were hoping to see instead of me. Did you find a replacement?"

"No, grandfather." I push out the words quickly. "No one can replace you."

"Weiss?" He asks with a smile and a raised brow. I love it sometimes when he does know that I'm hiding something. This is not one of those _sometimes_ things. Grandfather is keen even in old age. It's where mother gets her keenness from. Or maybe it's old age and experience. Or maybe it's because I'm easy to read.

"You know you can tell me, Snow angel. I may be old but I still got thick skin behind this wrinkly shell." He says with this soft and tender voice that only he can pull off. "You know I'll never be mad at you."

"It's not that!" the words are harsh which is not what I was going for. "It's just… I'm… I can't see her anymore. I know shouldn't be upset to see you instead of Yang, but I am. I need her more than anyone else."

I can see the hurt in his eyes. I wish I didn't, but I do and I feel selfish for it. Grandfather is risking his health to see me and I'm acting like a spoiled brat because he's the wrong person. Because he's not Yang.

"I'm sorry you feel that way snow angel." He's soft with his words which all the more harder to bare. "I'm sorry I'm not her."

I wanted to tell him that I didn't mean it, but I wouldn't want to lie to my grandfather. My emotions are just a knotted up and twisted mess of branches from a dead or dying tree.

"Willow hasn't talked much about this _Yang_ person and now I see why. It's a touchy subject and I wanted to know more, but I can tell you would rather not talk about it." Grandfather struggles to his weak feet and heads towards the exit. "Come find me when you're done with breakfast." He announced before leaving.

I feel deeply terrible for the way I treated grandfather this morning and I'm hoping that I can make it up later in the day. As soon as possible, maybe once I find him. Highly doubt that's possible though Knowing grandfather, he has more important things to talk about besides apologies.

It took a long time to get ready for the day. There is no need to go into details about that though. I wheel myself around the upper levels of the manor trying to find grandfather. He most likely could be in his old study room or the grand library. Hopefully, Dice isn't in either and if he is I pray grandfather will give him an ear full.

I wheel around looking at my home from a different perspective. Each staircase that I come across makes me a little sadder, a little more depressed, a little more lonely. For the last couple of weeks, I've been stuck on this level of the manor. Once, we did try to get me down the stairs, but it tires the servants who helped. Mother suggested a lift that carries me up and down to avoid the stairs. Dice said by the time that's put in I'll be walking again. I doubt that though.

Finally finding grandfather in the library sitting in a chair, silently reading a book he's most likely already read. He looks wise and full of knowledge. Time has worn him down in a good way.

"I understand that you were supposed to start therapy today." He calls, his eyes never leave to page. "Willow called though and canceled. In fact, she canceled many times."

My mouth hangs open a little. _Why would she cancel? How could she cancel?_

"She'd like you to spend more time with me." He adds. A twinge of pain zaps through me. "Seeing that my old age is slowing me down and you being in a wheelchair would put us at the same pace" No one wants me to feel rushed. That's a plus I suppose. "She wants us to support each other, but you have someone else in mind. Someone Dice does not want here."

Does he know about Yang's Mom? Does he know that she is hunting me down? That one of her people caused the wreck that put me in a wheelchair? Does he know everything that I know? Or does he know more?

Grandfather slaps his book shut and sets it aside. "But, in my opinion, he's being paranoid and overprotective." He slowly gets up from his chair, scoops up his cane and waddles over to me.

I watch and wait patiently for him. Taking my glasses off and putting them back on as I do. Mother finally bought another pair for me, Though the bandages do get in the way sometimes. Adjusting them several times before getting them in the right spot has now become a daily thing for me. I will not complain though.

"Julius, come here please." Grandfather calls to a young man who looks to be around the age of thirty maybe younger. Black hair and ocean blue eyes, he looks the perfect dream guy for a straight girl. Julius wears simple clothes though which is abnormal for a caretaker. Grandfather usually has them wear some more… suitable for his taste. A suit and a tie maybe.

"Julius would you give my granddaughter a hand." Grandfather gestures to me.

"Most certainly Mister Schnee." Julius takes the handles, spins me around and we begin to walk.

We walk in silence down the white halls, simply enjoying each other company… I suppose. I doubt grandfather would want me now that I've flat out told him he's the wrong person. Mother may think that it will help, but I feel I'm digging myself a deeper grave with each person that I come across.

Grandfather finally breaks the silence by asking some serious questions. "What is so special about Yang? Why are you so latched on to them?"

The question catches me off guard. Why is he so interested in Yang anyway? And I suppose the talk from before about Yang being a sensitive subject is out the window. Or maybe he wants to know more about me? He has been gone for at least six years now and wants to know about the new stuff in my life.

"I know talking about this will be hard, but I have time," Grandfather says.

"And if I don't answer?" I ask hesitantly.

"Then I will not be able to help you."

I think for a moment. "What are you help me with exactly?"

We stop and grandfather turns to me. "That I might help you see Yang again."

Now I truly am stumped. "Why would you want to do that?"

"Because," He says softly. "It upsets me to see my granddaughter in such a miserable state. I'd hoped to come here and cheer you up, but I suppose I put too much hope into Willow's plan."

His words eat away at me. He's doing so much for me after I had been so rude to him. For a once-dangerous businessman, grandfather grew older to be a kind man with a soft spot to make others feel happy as well.

"Thank you…" I mutter. "Thank you so much."

Grandfather rests a hand on my shoulder, a toothy smile on his face. "There's no need to that snow angel. Now tell me about Yang."

"Well, Yang was my very first friend. My first _true_ friend to be exact…" Julius begins to push me along and we walk down the halls of the manor together.

I spent hours and hours talking about Yang. From the way she talked to the way she walked. I talked about my most fond memories with her and some were a little embarrassing to talk about. Got a couple chuckles from grandfather due to most of my stories being embarrassing. Some though, I've decided to keep to myself. Like the argument and telling her about my past. Some memories made me cry, laugh, or downright made me feel hot on the cheeks. I could hardly contain myself as I babbled on about Yang. And grandfather listened to every word I said.

He did ask questions along the way, some which I can't answer. They're more of an _ask Yang_ than _ask me_ questions. Some which I answered wholeheartedly and others I kept to myself.

"Willow has told me that you are dating this girl. Is that correct?"

That's a question I've been asked multiple times by my family members. Grandfather is more old fashion though and may not… I wouldn't say approve. That would be too harsh. He may not ally himself with gay people, but he does show respect towards them.

"Yes… I have for nearly three months." I say quickly, hoping that we can push onto the next question, but grandfather holds strong.

"And how did this girl catch your eye?"

My memory reverts back to the first time we've met. When Cardin was angry with me for ignoring him and his demands. Yang caught sight of what was happening and stepped in to save me. Back then that was the only problem I had. Now I'm being threatened and hunted by people I don't know at all.

"Her, sometimes, good jokes, big smile, beautiful lilac eyes, cheery attitude, golden hair, and best of all her kind heart, caught my attention," I say. "I didn't know I would fall in love with my first friend. Maybe it was because I had so much love to give and I didn't know what to do with it."

"It sounds she's gotten you out of your shell," Grandfather mutters. "I'm surprised."

 _You don't know how many people have told me that._ Dating Yang Xiao-Long has become common knowledge around this household. I yearn for people to understand her like I do though. There is already enough harsh judgment about her going around.

"And have you talked to her about _Jacques_ yet." The emphasis on _his_ name is bitter and distasteful. This is a question I do not want to talk about…, but if it helps bring Yang here then I can bear to talk about it for a few minutes.

I swallow hard, mentally preparing myself for this talk. "We've talked about it before when we first met. I had this terrible flashback and ran off. I was terrified of him and I locked myself in my room. Yang came to me though. She didn't give up on me. She stayed with me all night and had kept him away from me. We talked about it that morning." I pause for a moment. "We can relate to a lot of things actually," I add.

"Like what?"

"We have matching scars on our faces and… we've been attacked by a drunken man." My voice lowers, keeping that last bit to myself.

"Hmm?"

"Nothing…, But what are you planning to do to get Yang here? And what are you going to do with all this information?"

"I wanted to know more about Yang before going to meet her. It's good to know a little information about my granddaughter's girlfriend." Grandfather is quiet for a moment. "I also want you to know that I can't simply go get her today and bring her back here. This will take time and planning."

"I understand," I say with full honesty. "Can you give me an estimated time of when you are going to get her."

Grandfather thinks for another moment again. "Three, Maybe four, months."

"That's in the middle of summer." I gasp.

"Is there a problem?"

"I don't know yet," I reply breath fully. "She may not want to come seeing that this will be the last summer with her family."

Grandfather begins to chuckle. "You and Willow both worry too much about irrational things." The man rests a warm hand on my shoulder. "I promise she'll come, Weiss. If she's as kind-hearted as you say she is? Then she'll come for you."

His words ease my tension and somewhat make me relax a bit on the inside. _He's right! I worry too much about impossible or irrational things. Knowing Yang, she'll drop everything to come to see me in a heartbeat._

"Be prepared tomorrow, snow angel," Grandfather says. "You start therapy. Julius will you please take Weiss to her room. I'll send Klein up with dinner and a slice of red velvet cake."

Is it really time for dinner? That's crazy! I'm sure lunch time was right around the corner. Oh well. Lunch isn't my favorite meal of the day anyway.

"Yes, Mister Schnee." Julius pulls me away, heading in the direction of my room, grandfather heading the opposite way. Once out of earshot, Julius tries to strike up a conversation with me. "Your grandfather is a very understanding man."

"He is." Julius seems like a kind man and if grandfather trusts him then I will as well. Though I do have a fear of him telling Dice our plans.

"What's it like growing up in a mansion?"

"It's boring and lonely at times." Most people would picture a rich family showing off their wealth, but not the Schnee family. "What about your family? Do they live a normal?" I ask, full heartily curious as to what he has to say.

"My uh… my real parents couldn't afford to take care of me and had me put up for adoption. Another family took me in and raised me in a decent home." Julius mutters. I hear the shame and sadness drip from his voice. I kind of feel bad for the boy.

"I knew a man that married into my family for the money and to control The Schnee electric company," I say, trying to make a connection with the man. "At least your parents did the right thing. They wanted you to have a normal life." Julius simply stays quiet. I hoped to draw some lines together that we can bond a little. But my idea falls flat and he continues to push me down the hall in silence.

When arriving at my room, Julius apologized for ignoring me. I tell him he can repay me by helping me into my bed. He said he was going to do that anyway though.

Julius scoops me up from the chair and lays me on the bed. "There you go. Is there anything else I can do for you, Miss Schnee?"

"No… well," I mull around in my brain for a second. "Could you visit me for one hour a day, if you can, until you and grandfather leave. I like to get to know more about you, Julius."

"You sure it's not to cure your boredom?" He teases.

"Maybe that's one of my reason," I say after a moment of silence. "You are an interesting person, Julius. even if I know very little about you."

"You're an interesting person as well, Miss Schnee." Julius smiles before telling me goodbye. I wave until Julius closes the door. Once I know no one will be bothering me for the next couple of minutes, I pull out my phone and call Yang.

It doesn't take long for the blonde to pick up. "Hello?" Yang's voice low and tiring.

"Hello, Yang."

There is a long pause on the other end. "Weiss?!"

The surprised voice causes me to giggle. "Yes."

"Holy… It's three in the morning, Weiss." There is a pause. "This is the best walk call I've ever gotten."

I thought she'd be upset that I interrupted her sleeping, but when she said this was the best wake up call she's ever gotten, it put a smile on my face. A sigh of relief escapes my lips. "That is good. So how are you this fine evening?"

"Tired." Yang's blunt tone makes me laugh. "And pretty good knowing that I can still make you laugh."

"That's always a good thing," I reply, smiling happily. It's been a long time since I've heard Yang's voice. She always had this funny way with words. The kind that always put a smile on my face, that always makes me feel giddy and happy. The amazing warm feeling when you're all snuggled up in bed with your significant other. Oh, nothing can beat that feeling. Like a swell of joy in my chest. And what makes it better is that I have good news for once.

"How are you doing, Weissicle? You hanging in there!" Yang sounds more awake now. "Or did you have another bad day?"

"For once in my life, I actually have good news for you." Saying the words put a bigger smile on my face. "My grandfather came today and wants to help get you here."

"W-wait, really!" Yang sputters in surprise. "You're not joking are you!"

I shake my head, giggling like a schoolgirl. Then I realized Yang can't see me. "It's no joke. We'll finally get to see each other again."

"That's… wow! T-that's Awesome Weiss!" I can tell Yang can barely hold down her excitement. "When will I be picked up? How soon? Is it tomorrow?"

Here came the bad news. "Erm… No, Yang. We'll have to wait three months. Grandfather said it will take some planning."

Another beat of silence. "Guess I can't skip out on graduation now can I." She chuckles lightheartedly.

"No, you ca-" Before I know what's happening, the phone is ripped from my face and is now on the floor in pieces.

Dice had come into my room moments ago and I didn't notice. His face fuming with rage and disappointment. "Why can't you see that I'm trying to protect you from… from… from those monsters." He growls. "I gave you a nice warning, but now I'll have to enforce it. You contact her in any other way and I'll have her arrested."

"For what? Being there for me when you can't." I growl back. "You are just a horrible replacement for my father. He would never treat me like this."

"And look where it got him." Dice shouts. Seeing his raw anger out on display is truly terrifying. "Your _Father_ is six feet under." That's the last comment he makes before calmly walking out of my room.

Klein is waiting outside and makes he's in once Dice has felt. He quickly and calmly makes his way over, sets down the tray of food and grabs my hand. "Are you alright? He didn't hurt you?"

I shake my head, muttering. "No…"

Klein releases a sigh of relief and sets up the tray to stand over my lap. " Are you sure you are alright?" His tone is different. It's softer. Klein isn't asking if I'm physically alright. He's wondering if I'm mental alright.

Again, I shake my head. "No."

Klein sighs. A long silence fills the room as the butler sets aside the cover. Well cooked fish and shrimp sit steaming on the plate along with broccoli and rice. He then uncovers the red velvet cake that grandfather promised, saying I brought your favorite. But not even the sweet food can put a smile back on my face.

When Kleins sees that there is nothing he can do to cheer me up, he sighs in defeat and leaves.

It takes some time for me to find the energy to pick up my fork and eat. The only thing I can focus on is how openly I spoke of grandfather's plan to bring Yang here. I pray multiple times hoping that Dice heard none of it.

* * *

 **Again I appreciate you guys so much for sticking with me and this story even if half of it, most of it or all of it is bad writing, I'm glad you guys stuck around to read it. Don't forget to leave some criticism. Hope you guys liked this chapter. or not, that's fine too. Like, comment, subscribe, and I'll see you guys later! BYE!**


	36. Chapter 36

**Some important stuff for you guys to know. I'll away for a week and a half which means no update until I get back. Also, band camp is starting soon so I may not update as frequently. besides that enjoy the chapter, or not which is fine, and I'll see y'all next time!**

* * *

Yang's PoV

"Weiss!?"

Nothing.

All I can hear is the static coming from the other end. I had called several times and waited for Weiss to pick up. No one did though. The last noise I heard her make was a surprised gasp than nothing. So many thoughts run through my head faster than a speeding bullet. Fear swelled up inside me quicker than someone can pour a cup of coffee. And what made it worse is that I can do nothing about it. I'm sitting on the other line with no harm done to me while she could be kidnapped or taken somewhere. Gods, I can't deal with those thoughts right now.

"Yang… are you awake again?" The groggily and yet still squeaky voice of my sister echoes through the air, pulling me back into real time.

I have been blankly staring at my phone for the last couple of minutes, trapped inside the screen like a spell had been casted on me. Ruby broke that though. "Hm? Oh…, yeah Rubes, I'm awake."

The last couple of weeks I've been getting shitty sleep and Ruby easily found out one time when I had a nightmare that I was at Weiss' funeral. The dream is vivid just thinking about it sends a shiver down my spine. Now Ruby wakes up every night and checks on me, sometimes staying to sleep with me. I tell her we can share the bed, but she said the spot is for someone else. I didn't know whether to tell her that's dumb or respectful. All in all, it's just a bed.

Ruby shuffles across the room, her feet dragging against the floor. I expected her to crawl into Weiss' spot and simply wait until I fell back asleep. Instead, she crawls right into my arms.

"Okay, spill!" She demands.

I bite the inside of my cheek and drop my phone onto the nightstand. "I was just on the phone with Weiss when the call flatlined. I'm worried, Ruby. I worried that someone is doing something to her and I'm stuck on the other side, safe." Ruby listens to every word quietly. "I should probably call the police."

"I think you are overreacting Yang," Ruby says quietly. "You probably had a bad connection. Or there was a bad storm and the power cut out."

"No. no, it wasn't like that Ruby," I mutter. "She gasped like she was surprised like she was… found out… "At that moment something clicked in my brain. "My gods. Weiss' stepdad found I-I was talking to her on the phone and just flipped out. He didn't want me around her. Th-that if I were anywhere near her he… he would come for me an-and-"

Ruby grips a shoulder. "Woah, woah, woah! Yang slow down!"

"It's just like Jacques all over again," I mutter. "She… she could be getting beaten or… or… or worse." The swelling panic rises and continues to rise. My scar itches and burns.

"Yang? Yang! Yang, stop!" Ruby grabs my shoulders and shakes me. "You need to stop." She whimpers. "...It's been getting worse, hasn't it? Your scar. Ever since you left Weiss at the hospital you've been in a downward spiral and I thought that the texting would help you, but it's not."

I'm baffled by Ruby's words. She's been observing me for the last couple of week. Shame joins the mix of fear in my chest. "I thought you wouldn't notice."

Ruby slugs me in the arm weakly. "Well I did and it's hurting me too! It hurts me to see you like this, Yang."

"I know. I just…" There is no excuse for me to give. Ruby has me cornered and now it's either fight or give up. There is no need for a fight though. I've already lost anyway. "I'm sorry, Ruby. I was scared. I'm still scared and I don't know what to do."

"It's okay to be scared, Yang," Ruby says quietly. "But it's not okay to be alone and scared. We're sisters, Yang. We tell each other these things so we don't feel trapped or alone."

"I know. I just… didn't want to scare you." I mutter shamefully.

"Well, you failed at that."

"Yeah, I guess I did."

There is a pregnant silence between us. I haven't figured out if it's good or not though. It's okay if Ruby is upset. If she's mad that I didn't tell her. That's how I would respond anyway. Then Ruby pulls me into a hug… it's more like she pulled herself into this hug, but a hug is a hug.

"Don't you ever do this to me again." Ruby whimpers. "Don't hide something from me when you know I can help."

She wants to help me so much, but I don't know if she can. Dice has threatened me and doing gods knows what to Weiss right now. What I do know is that sleep isn't going to happen now that I can't get my mind off of Weiss. Ruby must have noticed my scared and worried expression through the dark because she tells me to stop.

"Seriously. You're going to worry yourself to death." Ruby grumbles into my neck. "She's going to be fine."

"How do you know?" I ask.

Another pregnant silence. "Let's just say I have a good feeling about it."

"Oh, because every time you have this good _feeling_ makes the situation okay." It's an annoyed grumble. Harsh on my end, but I hate it when she says she has this feeling about a situation and she halfway right about it. In my opinion that saying or phrase or whatever it is cursed beyond oblivion and no one will convince me otherwise.

"It was one time!" Ruby yelps. "How was I supposed to know there was a strip club downstairs!"

"I think those were gay feelings talking to you because all the strippers were girls," I say in an irritated yet teasing tone. "I mean the sign said you must twenty-one or older. Half our group was not allowed in there, we did it anyway."

Ruby curls her lip into a pout. "I didn't think much of it at the time." She grumbles.

I wrap my arms around, giggling lightly. "Thanks, Ruby… for cheering me up."

Ruby squeezes me lightly. "No problem. After all, what are sisters for."

"Yeah," I say softly. "What are sisters for."

For the rest of the night, Ruby sleeps with me, keeping me company and scaring away the nightmares. I guess the rules of protecting your sibling changes sometimes.

Ruby falls back asleep in my arms, but I stay awake, staring off into the darkness. The way Weiss gasped, she sounded so shocked and surprised. I can't get it out of my head. I hated it. _Gods, please. Please! Be okay Weiss._

I don't remember falling asleep, I also don't remember what descent sleep felt like either. The warm orange-yellow sunlight slips through the curtains spilling onto the floor as I slowly pulled open my eyes. Ruby had already gotten up and is most likely making breakfast for us in the kitchen. My body feels so relaxed and my mind is geared up and ready to go. I haven't felt this way in a long time.

"Yang! Breakfast is ready!" Ruby yells from the kitchen. "You better be up or I'll come in there and pour ice cold water on you!"

"I'm up!" I answer, swinging my legs out to the side of the bed, standing up, and stretch my tired muscles. Stretching after sleeping has become a natural thing for me, but every once a while I forget to. Hey, I'm only human okay.

After throwing on some clean clothes and _fixing_ my hair, I head towards the kitchen. The scent of bacon and eggs did not overcome my scenes of smell. Milk and a cereal box sat on the counter alongside a bowl and spoon. Ruby had already made hers and is sitting down eating happily.

"Did you sleep better?" She asks when I come into view.

I pour my cereal then the milk and dip the spoon in. "Yeah. I had a much better sleep last night. Thanks for the help, Rubes." Taking a seat next to my baby sister, I dig into the sugary flakes.

Ruby slurps up her milk and looks at me. Creamy white milk sat on top of her lip. She wiggles her nose. "Look, Yang! I'm professor Port!"

"You're Professor doofus that what you are," I say before taking another bite of cereal.

Ruby frowns. "You're just jealous that I look better than you."

"Yeah, for once in your life." I shot back.

"Oh, ha ha. I bet you can't even pull off a milk mustache like I can." The brunette says proudly while jamming a thumb into her chest.

I take my last bite of cereal and turn to Ruby. With the straightest face I can muster, it's hard to because I'm gay, I gulp down the sweet milk but making sure I have some left on my upper lip. Ruby eyes me for a moment before sighing in defeat.

A smirk tickles my lips as I wipe the extra milk away. "You underestimate me, Ruby. Now go get ready for school. It starts in thirty minutes."

Ruby groans and begs me to let her skip today. I asked and she said they had some stupid test in professor Peach's class. I tell her she has to face up to these stupid tests and suffer like everyone else. Besides she would be postponing the inevitable to tomorrow anyway. She gives me a sour look before marching off to her room. I take Ruby's and my bowl, rinse them off and put them in the dishwasher.

Ruby leaves fifteen minutes later and I am left to wonder the penthouse on my own. I have two hours before classes start for me which means I have two hours of doing whatever the hell I want. It may sound fun at first, but there isn't much to do around here. There isn't much to watch on t.v. and if I get too engrossed in a book I'll want to finish it in one sitting. So the only thing I can do is go hang out in my room which also doesn't have much to do in there either.

The room is warmer and more inviting than the last time. I search for something to entertain me for the next two hours, but nothing really stands out. Until my eyes landed on Weiss' school bag of course. It's wrong to go through other peoples stuff, yeah, but I wasn't thinking about that at the time.

I remember the binder full of drawings she has which peaks my interest. "I wonder if she has any drawings of me."

There's only one way to find out.

I step over to the lone bag and rummage through her stuff. It doesn't take me long to find the white binder full of drawings and sketches falling out of it. Some old, some new, some I've never seen before, and some that I can easily recognize. One that stuck out to me was a picture of the two of us sitting in a park. She, me, and Ruby sat on a bench while Jaune, Nora, Ren played frisbee, Pyrrha standing on the sidelines. Sun was propped up against a tree and Blake and Ilia seem to be talking to him. Neptune sat at his boyfriend's feet messing with his phone. The top right corner had _New Friends_ written in nice and fancy handwriting.

"Woah." I breathe. The artwork easily took my breath away. "I got to remember to tell Weiss she's an awesome artist.

One particular drawing stuck out to me. It looked like a comic panel. I plucked it out to see several pages that were like this. Some looked half finished or simply sketched out. Not much work has been done, but it still looks really interesting to me. And beautiful.

"She's been drawing a comic," I mutter in awe. "That's perfect for her."

I read through the first couple pages. The main character, a girl that looks very similar to Weiss, is rushed to what must be an escape pod of some sort. A man frantically types coordinates on a nearby screen and a mirror that is glossed over with a bubbly color, forms. The girl is shot through and the portal closes. She crash lands in this huge forest. And I don't mean the tree go on and on forever, no the tree was huge as in hundreds of feet huge.

I push the page aside to read the next one, but that's as far as Weiss has gotten for now. I don't blame her for not getting far. She always says drawing and sketching takes a lot of free time. There are several character designs that go with the comic strips. One character to very similar to Ruby, another reminds me of Blake, and another one looked like I was staring at myself in the mirror. That's when it clicked for me.

Weiss was making a comic about us.

A huge smile nearly split my face in two when I pick up the next piece of art. Weiss sent a picture of this art to me a month ago. Me, smiling happily, a tiny version of Weiss in my breast pocket with an offset crown and a sheepish smile on her face.

I set the picture aside and pluck another one. It had a sketch of two people with no detail. One holding its hand out and another it the first one's hand, sitting. Now I one hundred percent know what this is. _Weiss got this idea from me because I kept calling her small or short or pocket princess. I can't believe she got this idea from me. That's so awesome!_

I kept going through the many sketches she had for this comic. Weiss has some pretty ideas for this. "I got to remember to grab all of her stuff before I graduate."

It makes me sad to know that Weiss won't be at my graduation. Then again I don't want her to sit there for three hours just to hear my name be announced and to walk across the stage and get my degree. We'll have to sit through several speeches then throw our hats in the air and leave afterward. Sounds like fun.

I gather up all the papers and put them back in the binder then put that back in the bag. There is still so much time to kill and I have nothing to kill it with except fiddle with my phone or flip through the channels on the t.v. Neither of those sound appealing to me.

"I knew I shouldn't have sent Shallow back to Patch," I grumble. She was only supposed to stay at home for the weekend, but Ruby and I were emotionally unstable at the time. I guess I could get ready for school or go eat more cereal. Because those two things will entertain me for the next hour and forty-five minutes.

"My gods of Remnant! I'm so bored!" I grumble. "Mindless t.v. and phone time wins again."

After burning my brain out with stupid t.v. and internet time on my phone, I finally go to class. I take a seat next to Sun and Neptune. Pyrrha didn't sit too far in front of us. If I knew she was coming to class today then I would have sat by her.

Pyrrha is still struggling with the loss of Jaune, we all are, but she's on a different level of struggle. It worries me to see her like this. So down and defeated for the last couple of weeks. What makes it worse is that Pyrrha told Jaune's parents what happened by herself. I should have been there as support, but she didn't want anyone else to come with her.

Sun leans over, asking. "How is she doing?" He must have caught me staring at Pyrrha. Why else would he ask that question?

I shrug. "I don't know. We haven't talked much since I told her about Jaune's death. Ruby says she keeps an eye on her though."

"Well, that's good," Sun replies.

Then Neptune chimes in. "Have you heard from Penny or Weiss in the last couple of days?"

"Weiss is… okay, and I haven't heard from Penny." I'm unsure of how Weiss is doing actually, but I don't want my friends to worry about her too right now. We all are still healing and not knowing if Penny is okay is enough salt on the wound.

The bell rings and Professor Port begins to talk about his telltales. They're interesting enough to keep half the class awake, but that's about it. For an older man, he has a vivid memory. Port always says his mind is a steal even though he forgets to give us our test half the time. I'm not complaining though and I'm sure no one else is either.

After Port finished his telltale that has nothing to do with what we are learning, he tells us to get out our books turn to page two hundred and six. We all groan but do it anyway.

Once Port's class ended, I rushed to catch Pyrrha before she disappears for the rest of the day. I decided during class that I would talk to Pyrrha to see how she's been holding up. Pyrrha though doesn't wait for anyone and rushes off to her next class.

"Pyrrha, wait!" I call out, but she ignores me and dashes out the door. "Damnit."

Sun comes up to me and claps a hand on my shoulder. "She'll talk to us when she's ready."

I look over my shoulder. "You could be right, but I feel like she's pushing us away. Does she not know we're here for her?"

Sun shrugs and lets go. I head to Doctor Oobleck's class next where Blake and Ren are waiting for me somewhere close in the front. They had saved a seat for me in between them.

"Ruby told me you had problems sleeping again last night," Blake mutters. "You can always call, you know."

"Yeah, but we all have stuff that we need to worry about and I shouldn't be one of them, Blake," I reply, before Turning to Ren. "How is she?"

He sighs strongly. "Nora is doing better, but Pyrrha… she is still a wildcard."

"She only seems to be talking to your sister," Blake says

"They have been hanging out together a lot lately," Ren adds. "It makes you wonder what they're doing."

I think for a moment. "Ruby does know Pyrrha better than anyone else. She may be helping Pyrrha ease the pain."

The bell rings which causes our little group to fall silent for a couple of minutes. Once the lesson starts, Blake slides me a small slip of paper with a note on it. _Do you think they are getting back together?_

The question nearly makes my eyes pop out of my sockets. I never thought of Pyrrha and Ruby getting back together. It makes sense too! Than again Ruby could just be there for Pyrrha and nothing else.

I write back. _I don't know. If they are, would that be okay?_ I slide the paper back to the raven-haired girl. We do this throughout the class period and we even got Ren involved too! He says it highly likely for the two to get back together. That it may have started out a comfort for each other and that it grew into something else. Something more emotional. Blake and I don't fully agree on what Ren has said. It is a good theory though. One that I would like to confirm or bust.

The rest of the day drags on slowly like every other day. I try to hunt down Pyrrha to talk to her, to tell her that I'm, and her friends, are here to help. No luck again and I come home feeling terrible. I flip down on my bed and try to think about any good that has come out of this day.

Pyrrha has been avoiding me and everyone is struggling to get through the rest of the school. I even lost all contact with Weiss! How is she supposed to tell me that someone is coming to get me in three to four months?

I blink a couple times when I reminded myself that someone is coming to get me. I pull out the calendar on my phone to see when this person will come.

 _After the school year is over, they will come around the beginning of July or beginning of August. Can I make it that long? Yes!_ I give myself a pep talk about making it through the rest of the year. I tell myself that I can't worry about anyone else right now. That if they want to be stuck in the past and decide not the keep moving forward than that is their choice, but I'll keep putting one foot in front of the other until I reach my goal. And Weiss is my goal.

"I can do this! I can wait four months." I tell myself. "I can through all this."

 _These next few months are going to be more painful than any boxing workout, but I can do it. I can do it._

 **A month later.**

One month after graduating from Beacon, Ruby and I moved back to Patch for the summer. I've gotten no response from Weiss and I've heard nothing about Penny. I worry that Weiss has forgotten about me. That she's too engrossed in getting back on her feet that it's the only thing she's thinking about. I send her a text every day to see if I can get a response from her and every day I get no reply. I haven't given up though.

It also seems like Qrow and his special mission have disappeared into oblivion as well. Not a word has come from him since the day of the wreck and it has me questioning what is going on. He may be hiding something again. At this point, I don't care.

"Yang, it's time to Get up!" Summer calls from downstairs.

"Okay!" I yell back. Even if I would like to stay in bed all day I can't. Today is chores day and I can't have Ruby doing all of my chores for me. That'd be unfair. I roll out of bed and get ready for the day.

Summer made pancakes this morning. Ruby is at the table already scarfing down her share of fluffy golden circles. Dad is nowhere to be seen though. Summer hands me a plate and I dish myself some food. Then I take a seat to Ruby and begin to dig in.  
"So where is dad?" I ask before shoving a fork full of fluffy pancake in my mouth.

"Tai got a call from the station and had to check it out." Summer replies. "Oh, and a man called late last night. He said he wanted to talk to you. You were asleep of course so I told him to call back later."

This catches my attention and I set down the fork. "What did he say?" I ask with curiosity.

"Not much," Summer shrugs. She pulls out chair, sits, and beings to eat. "Except that he wanted to talk to you."

Several questions run through my head. _Who is this man? What does he want? Why does he want to talk to me?_ I thought I would have to wait a while for these questions to be answered. The doorbell rings and I am pulled from my thoughts. The three of us eye each other before Summer gets up to answer the door.

She opens the door and greets whoever is there. Ruby goes back to eating her breakfast. I am more interested in the person that Summer is talking to. I get up from my chair and head to the front door.

"Excuse me, but do we know you?" Summer asks.

"No, but my granddaughter knows Yang very well." An old gruff voice declares. His words are like music to my ears and I, gently, push past Summer to see who it is. The old man standing at the door is wearing a pure white suit and red tie. An old wrinkly hand grips his cane and the smile on his face is one of the sweetest things I've seen.

"Ah, you must be Yang, the young lady that captured my little snow angel's heart." The man sticks out a hand for me to shake. "I'm Nicholas Schnee. Founder of the Schnee Electric Company and grandfather to-"

"Weiss." I'm baffled. Completely and utterly baffled. "Wh… what? Why… how do you know me?"

"Weiss told me everything about you." He says. "From the first time you two met to the first you two kissed."

I become hot faced. _Weiss told him everything!? I think I'm going to die of embarrassment._

"Why are you here, then?" Summer asks.

"That's simple." He simply says. "I'm here to take Yang back to Atlas." Summer raises a brow, questioning the older man. "Weiss has been miserable in the last two months, but I strongly believe your daughter can fix that." Summer's jaw tenses, eyes narrowing in on the man. She's thinking. Weighing chances. "Your daughter will be safe, Miss Rose, I promise."

"Please, mom." I plead. "I need to see her."

Summer continues to think, eyeing the man carefully. "If you are going to Altas. I want a phone call when you land."

It takes my brain a moment to comprehend what Summer said. She agreed. She agreed! The voice in my head scream. "Yes! Thanks, Mom!" I squeeze Summer with the biggest hug I've ever given then turn to Mister Schnee and asking when we are leaving?

"Right now."

Right now!?

"I will give you time to pack up." Mister Schnee says, which calms my nerves ever so slightly. I'm just so excited to see her again. "Oh, and do bring a swimsuit."

I can barely hold my excitement and dash upstairs to pack my things. Shoving everything I need in a bag throwing Weiss' backpack over my shoulder, I come back downstairs ready to go. Summer says her goodbye and Ruby tells me to check up on Penny when I can. I tell them I love them and that I'll call as soon as I can. We get in a small black car and leave for the airport where a jet is waiting for us. The ride is smooth, but not smooth enough to keep me calm.

By the time we land, it's night in the Atlas. My guess is that it's around one in the morning maybe later. A young man waits for us next to a black car. The same kind back in Patch.

"Welcome back Mister Schnee." The man says as he opens the door for the two of us.

"Thank you, Julius." The man, Julius helps Mister Schnee into the car and takes my bags.

I thank him and climb in after Mister Schnee. He informs me that Dice is away on business and won't be back for two weeks. He also says Weiss has been pushing herself to get better and will most likely be asleep.

It doesn't take long to arrive at the Schnee manor. It's huge! With a gate and fountain in the front and a house that is brighter than a Christmas tree. The car comes to a stop and I let myself out. "Woah," I breath. "How do you guys not get lost in there?"

"We hand out maps to our guests so they don't get lost." Mister Schnee says jokingly. "Eh, Klein will take you up to Weiss' room and don't worry about your bags. Julius will get them."

Klein comes walking down the steps. "How are you, Miss Xiao-Long?"

"I'm good. In fact, I'm great." I exclaim with a broad smile.

"That's wonderful." Klein smiles. "Now could you please follow me."

Klein and I make our way through the manor, up one or two flights of stairs and down a long hall before stopping in front of a bedroom door. My heart is pounding in my ears I'm so excited. Klein warns me to be quiet when I enter. "She's been getting terrible nightmares in the last few months so try to be quiet. Weiss doesn't need to be waken."

I nod in understanding and enter the room. It's a bigger room mine and Ruby's easily. The small lamp light helps me see the little lump in the bed. Klein quietly shuts the door behind me as I approach the bed which is big enough to fit at least four people in it. I slowly climb into the bed, happy that I wore basketball shorts and a t-shirt. A short moan comes from the sleeping girl. She turns her head to face me but doesn't wake up. I exhale slowly and lay on my back, finding Weiss' cold hand and holding it in mine. I plant a kiss on her forehead before relaxing into the pillowy mattress and stare at the ceiling blankly until I fall asleep.

* * *

 **So, this chapter is kind of all over the place. I've been having writer block with this chapter so I kind of just pushed through it. It came out a little better than I had excepted. Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter, or not which is fine. Leave some criticism that always helps. Like, comment, subscribe and I'll see you guys later! BYE!**


	37. Chapter 37

**Sorry that the chapter is super short, but a lot has been going on in the last two weeks of summer vacation. I tried to finish the story before school started, but from my point of view, that ain't happening. Anyway, enjoy the chapter or not, you know I'm not judging. I'll see y'all later.**

* * *

Weiss' PoV

I woke the next day feeling a warm pillow under my resting head. A muffled thump touches my ear as my head rises and falls like rhythmic breathing as a hand rests on my back.

A hand?!

My eyes pop open to a sea of orange and white covers my vision. The white being my bed and blanket, but it doesn't explain the orange fabric under me. It's warmer and more comfortable than any other pillow I own.

I lift my head up to take a look. My eyes nearly fall out of their sockets when I see _her._ The golden blonde hair, the scar on her cheek, mouth up with drool dripping from the cavern. I didn't care. She needs to awake and now! My lips mashs against hers. The hand on my back pulls me in and I deepen the kiss. A hum comes from Yang and I pull away.

"Woah!" The blonde breathes. Her half shut lilac eyes glossed over with sleep. "That's one hell of a wakeup call."

"Hello to you too!" I giggle. Yang pulls me into another kiss. It's deep and nice. The cold feeling I've had in my heart for the three months is burned away with a kiss. I feel whole again. I feel free.

We pull away again, both panting for breath. "You've gotten better. More fierce." Yang chuckles.

"Oh, shut up," I reply, playfully swatting her arm. It only causes the blonde to laugh an old and cheerful laugh that I've missed for so long.

Yang wraps around another arm, pulling me even closer and begins to feel my body. Not in a degrading way, but in a warm and gentle way. She always gives me this look to make sure she's not overstepping anything. That's what I love most about the girl, she's always making sure I'm okay and comfortable with stuff like this.

Yang's hands brush against the lower side of my back, fingers plucking at the hem of my shirt asking for entry. A small smile creeps up on my lips and I nod letting her know that it's okay. Her fingers slip under my shirt and her hot hands press against the bare skin of my cold back.

"Ooh, someone's a little chilly this morning," Yang says softly with a smile. "I guess you really are a snow angel."

I ignore her teasing by laying my head on her chest. Feeling warm hands against cold skin relaxes my muscles. Yang runs her hands up and down. Up and down. Her hands reach up to my shoulder blades and stop for a long moment.

"You're not wearing a bra." She whispers.

"No," I say calmly. "No, I'm not. I don't usually wear bras to bed anyway."

Yang smiles softly and continues to rub her hands up and down. "I'm not judging. I'm just surprised I didn't notice until now. I guess the reason is that I didn't get to freely roam around."

I feel her hands below the waist then I feel the warmth of her touch slowly drift away. A long sigh escapes my lips and I look up at the lilac eyes. "I can't feel your hands anymore."

I see the happiness in her eyes fade. "How… how have you been doing? With the whole walking thing."

Another long sigh. "Dice has finally gotten his little science experiment and I'm his first lab rat. So far the braces have helped, but they short circuit every now and then leaving me on the floor or in a dead stance."

"So it's not going well?" I can feel fingers run through my hair as Yang asks.

"It's more of an _in the middle_ situation," I say. "Though it would be a lot easier if the thing was waterproof. It would make it so much easier on me and everyone else."

"Have you tried standing without the braces?"

I nod. "Once and it almost ended horribly. I nearly fractured my wrist trying to catch myself from falling."

Yang must have run out of questions because she's quiet. Her fingers still stroking my hair. It makes me wish to pause and rewind this moment so I can live in it again and again. For once in a while, I didn't have to worry about Dice. The inability to walk has been put on the back burner. All that I care about is here now and I will not be giving her up so easily.

"What do you have planned for today?" Yang speaks up again. "Anything fun?"

I shrug. "Nothing much. I need a bath and eat breakfast."

"Do you need some help getting into the bath? Would you _like_ it if I joined you?" My face heats when hearing those words. Just picturing the scenario of Yang and I in a bath nearly makes my mind melt. _Her and I? Sh… sharing a bath?! I don't know if I can handle that. "_ It'll an experience the both of us will never forget~," Yang says in a singing voice.

"You're not really helping your case here, Yang," I mutter.

"I know you need a couple extra hands to help you with stuff." She adds with confidence. "Plus we can make up for lost times."

"You are _very_ persuasive, Miss Xiao-Long," Yang smiles. "But you're not persuasive enough." The smile drops into a pouty frown.

"Oh, come on, Weiss! You're being cold!" Yang whines.

Her childish behavior makes me giggle a bit. I snuggle up closer to the blonde, burying myself deeper and deeper into Yang's warmth. "That's why I have you to warm me up my little sun dragon." Yang hums. She moves her hands to my back and begins to stroke again. I sigh deeply and melt into Yang's form.

Our reunion doesn't last much longer. A knock on the door tells me that it's Klein with breakfast or mother is wanting to have another morning talk. I hope it's Klein with breakfast and not mother. She doesn't know Yang is here.

"Miss Schnee, I have breakfast for two!" Klein calls from the other side. There's a long moment of silence. "Miss Schnee?"

"Shouldn't you answer?" Yang asks. "He does have breakfast after all."

"Do you think he'll get the wrong idea about us seeing that I'm laying on top of you?" I reply with my own question. Yang shrugs.

I bite my lip and roll off of Yang. "Come in Klein."

Yang sits up when Klein comes in. He smiles warmly at the two of us when seeing me laying next to Yang and not on top of her. It worries me that Klein will get the wrong idea, but then again it's Klein. Yang fluffs up some pillows for me and pulls me into a sit-up position. Klein sets down one tray on the nightstand and hands the other to Yang. She sets her tray aside and waits for mine. Once Klein sets it up I ask for some privacy. He bows and walks out.

"You guys don't eat lobster for breakfast do you?" Yang asks jokingly though she looks serious.

"No, we don't," I say taking the lid off and begin to eat. The cooks made hash browns, sausage, and scrambled eggs. One of my favorite breakfasts. Today is going to be a good day.

"You have therapy today?" Yang asks before shoving a bite egg into her mouth.

"I think I'm going to cancel today's appointment so we can… make up for lost times as you put it." I say with a smirk.

Yang turns to me with a raised brow."Are you making fun of me?" She asks with a smile.

I take another bite of my breakfast. "No."

"Yes!" Yang jams a finger into my side causing me to yelp and giggle like an idiot. "That's a warning princess. Next time you wouldn't be so lucky."

"Oh really?" I say in a teasing manner. "And what might you do?"

"Well? First I would move the food out of the way." Yang slides her away from her body and moves mine on to the nightstand. "Then I would get on top of you." She straddles me at the waist. "give you a kiss." She says in a calm and soft voice. Yang leans down, her hair falling to the side, lips brushing again. "And…" the blonde's voice is a low whisper I almost miss it. "Tickle you!" Yang's fingers begin to assault my abdomen.

Several yelps and squeaks push past the laughing fit in my throat. It's impossible to get some type of word. I try to push Yang off with the only limbs I have. Yang easily swats them away and continues. It's no use. No matter how hard I tried Yang would stop me.

Then she yanked my shirt up exposing my belly. I squeak out of embarrassment when she does. I still feel self-conscious about my body when skin is exposed to Yang. My arms are ineffective when I try to cover up. Yang simply pushed them away and leaned down, her lips brush against the skin of my belly. A pitiful whimper ebbs through my throat. She presses her lips against me and blows a loud raspberry. The action sends me into another laughing and screaming fit of joy.

The laughing and screaming drowns the sound of someone opening the door "Weiss! Weiss! Weiss are you- oh, my gods!" Mother walked in at the worst possible time. Yang and I turn our attention both our faces paler than the bed sheets. "What are you doing to my daughter!"

Yang scrambled off of me, throwing her hands up in defense. "Now hold on a second. L-let me explain."

Mother comes storming over, pointing an angered finger at Yang. "How did you even get in here?!"

"Mother stop!" I call outreaching my arm out to protect Yang. "This is Yang! Grandfather went to get her!"

"And why do I not know about this?" She's upset and angered. "Why didn't I know that he would bring her here?"

"Because I didn't want you to get in the way of things, Willow," Grandfather says from the doorway.

Mother snaps her head to the old man. "What are you doing here?" She asks with shock. "You're supposed to be at the hospital getting your medicine."

"I appreciate the concern, Willow, but I had to check on my granddaughter seeing that you don't like surprises. I also wanted to make sure you didn't kill Miss Xiao-Long either."

"Do you know what will happen to her, to both of them, if Dice finds out that Miss Xiao-Long is here." Mother exclaims.

It doesn't make grandfather waver though. "Do not worry my dear. Dice is on a business trip for two weeks and hardly comes up to Weiss' room anyway."

The woman crosses her arms."So you expect Yang to hide out in Weiss' room until when exactly?"

"I expect Yang to stay as long as it makes Weiss happy."

Willow straightens herself up, knowing that it's a losing battle against grandfather, and apologizes to Yang for being impolite towards her. She says she blames it on the lack of sleep. Saying she's been worried about me. I believe her of course. Mother loves me with all her heart so I have reason to doubt her.

"It… it's no biggie." Yang shrugs awkwardly.

"You do look different in real life then you do on television though." Mother smiles happily. My face grows pale

Yang then turns to me. "I didn't know your mom was a fan of mine. Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because that's embarrassing!" I cry out, red-faced now that Yang knows what mother does. "Plus its weird to have you know that my mother watches you on t.v."

"Well, now I do know." Yang smiles. I smile back.

Grandfather walks up to mother, saying. "There's my little snowflake."

Mother mutters something to grandfather that I don't understand and don't really care to understand. Sometime after getting ready for the day, I'll properly introduce Yang to mother and grandfather and… maybe… maybe everyone else too.

Grandfather and mother leave us shortly after. Allowing Yang and I to properly get ready for the day.

"So about that bath we were talking earlier," Yang speaks up. "Are you still in need of a helping hand?" She asks with a cocky smirk.

"No way."

"Please, please, please!" Yang will keep pushing until I say yes.

I thought that I would be able to handle it, but her pleas are now plucking my nerves like strings on a guitar. "Fine! Fine." Yang pumps her fist in the air. "If…" one word cuts off her excitement. "You brought a swimsuit."

Yang raises her arms and flexes. "What? Don't want to see my body in all its glory?"

"No," I say, trying to keep a straight face while fighting off the blush forming in my cheeks.

"Aw! Is someone embarrassed?" Yang wiggles her brows teasingly.

"No!"

Yang bursts into a laughing fit. "You totally are embarrassed!"

I cross my arms and begin to pout. "So what if I am! I don't want to see you naked anyway!"

"It's not any different than with the swimsuit on." The blonde snorts.

"It makes all the difference!" I cry out throwing my hands in the air. "I do not need to see you without clothes on!"

"Ah, but someday you will." She smirks

"And that day isn't today," I reply with a huff. "Now help me out of bed and get me a swimsuit, please."

Yang slides out of bed, comes to my side, and pushes the covers. She becomes a pinch pink in the cheeks when she sees that I'm not wearing any PJ bottoms to cover up my legs. I squirm uncomfortably under her gaze.

"S-sorry." She sputters, turning her gaze in another direction. "I d-didn't know you weren't wearing pants."

I eye the blonde for a moment. It almost looks like she's embarrassed. Yang Xiao Long? Embarrassed? I didn't think that would be possible. This is a side I've never seen before and it's a side I'm willing to explore and or exploit… later.

"It's fine. You've seen me in a swimsuit anyway." Yang keeps quiet and picks me up. We move the bathroom after Yang scoops up a swimsuit for me. She then leaves me be to change of my own and for her to change as well.

Over the last couple of months, I've been getting better at changing my clothes. I don't wiggle like a worm that's in pain all the time nor do I need someone constantly watch out for me unless it's Yang of course. It still is hard for me to wrap my head around the idea that Yang is actually here with me.

After a few minutes, I hear a knock on the door. "You okay in there, Weiss?"

"Yes," I groan still struggling to tie up the upper half of my swimsuit. "Though I could use some help." _Gods! Out of all the swimsuits to pick, Yang. You had to pick my least favorite one._ Tying the strings together is like trying to itch that spot on your back. No matter how hard you try you just can't reach it. Mother has always helped me in situations like these, but this time Yang is taking over for her.

The door slowly opens and the blonde pokes her head in for a moment. She steps in now seeing that I'm well covered. She's wearing the same swimsuit she wore when we went to the beach. "Here," she steps up, takes the strings from my fingers and ties the two into a bow. "There you go, princess."

A blush touches my cheeks. "Thanks." Yang turns on the water and the bath begins to fill up.

"Have you stood up or walked without the braces?" Yang asks as she swirls the water around with a finger.

"Yes, but only for a second or two," I say. "It takes a lot out of me, mentally and physically, But I can sort of do it."

Yang holds out a hand. "Wann give it a try?" She says with a smile.

A soft half-smile touches my lips. "Okay, but you'll have to take it slow with me."

The blonde smiles, takes my hand and pulls me to my feet. I immediately begin to wobble and fall forward. Yang is there though to catch me in her strong arms. "Let's try a few baby steps, okay?"

Her warm smile to me causes a fuzzy feeling to build up inside my gut. That smile always breaks me.

"Okay."

She lifts me back up to my feet and doesn't let go. My fingers squeeze her shoulders like a snake choking its prey. Yang keeps her arms wrapped around my waist for balance. She has her body pressed against mine as she takes another step back. It's small like a tiptoe backward. "Not so hard right?"

"Maybe not for someone who has working legs," I grumble.

The blonde snickers. "Fair enough."

Yang watches and waits for me to take a step. I don't know how long we've waited for but Yang had been patient every step of the way. In the last couple of months, I've been getting some motor control back in my upper legs making it easier for me to lift them. So taking a step is more like sliding my foot forward and not actually walking.

"It's okay just take your time." Yang continues to whisper words of encouragement in my ear.

"Thanks," I mutter.

It takes all my brain power to lift one leg and lean all my weight to the other. The weighted one wobbles, but I snap in my knee to buckle my leg and slide the other over, what I'm guessing is cold hard marble floor.

Yang watches as my leg slowly moves forward. She smiles and squeezes me. A sign of joy from her. "You're doing great."

"It's just one step."

"One step is a sign of progress."

I scoff lightly with a side smirk. "Okay, you oaf."

She snickers and takes another small step back. I follow after her like a sloth. I'm surprised about how patient Yang is being. Usually, she'll just jump right in, but it seems like she can hold back really well too.

Step and step, we inch closer and closer to the bathtub. I come to realize that I'm about to take a nice bath with the hottest girl on earth. And not just hot. Yang is thoughtful, caring, sweet, smart. The list goes on and go. The revelation makes me special inside. It makes me feel really lucky to have Yang as my girlfriend.

Yang takes one more step back. "How are you feel- ngahh!" She bumps the side of the tub and falls in, pulling me with her.

A flash of hot water burns the skin on my arms and hands as I try to catch myself. A painful whimper rolls around on my tongue but I don't open to release it. Yang thought growls out of annoyance and anger, not pain. "At least we're in the tub."

 _Yeah_. _In a tub of boiling hot water. Might as well start cooking us alive!_

"You okay?"

"Y-yes." I stutter. "Just a little sting."

"Anything else?"

"No."

Yang releases a shaky breath and pulls the rest of her body into mid-shin deep water. I'm left dangling over the side of the tub. Yang pulls me in the rest of the way. She lays against the end of the tub and holds me close. cheek to chest. The way I like it. She asks me if I want to be flipped around.

"If I want to face the other way then I'll move the other way, thank you very much," I say with sass.

"Woah, okay. The little princess has more sass in her than height." Yang snickers.

"Shut it brute."

* * *

 **Finally got some lightheartedness for once in a while. I wish I could have added more, but nothing was really sticking with me. Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter. Leave some criticism. It helps, it really does. Like, comment, subscribe, and I'll see you guys next time! BYE!**


	38. Chapter 38

**Some cool stuff is happening tomorrow. First off new RWBY merch. Second, an Adam trailer is coming tomorrow at the normal time... I think and Fathom events are selling tickets for the first episode of RWBY volume six as well as some extra stuff about the volume. They go on seel at ten. Just thought you guys would like to know before reading my next chapter. Want any other info about ask because I have nothing better to do. Also, school has officially started for me so if chapters are taking forever to get out it's because of the overwhelming work I'm dealing with. Anyway, enjoy the chapter!**

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After the bath, we dried off and got dressed. Yang helped me here and there with a couple of things. Like putting on socks and getting somethings that I can't reach from high shelves. Mostly books and stuff, nothing much.

"Yo, I got you something," Yang calls. I wheel myself around to face her. In Yang's arms is my backpack. "You left it behind back at the penthouse so I kind of just took it with me."

"My backpack! So that's where it went!" I stretch my arms like a kid wanting candy, telling her to hand it over. I pull out the white binder full of drawings and sketches. They look out of order though. I look at Yang with a questioning look. "Did you go through my stuff?"

Yang becomes a little red cheeked and averts her gaze, rubbing the back of her head sheepishly. "Well…. Yeah, sort of." She falls silent as I look through the binder. Everything is out of order and miss placed

"You got some interesting stuff in there." She speaks up. "Some of it is pretty cool especially that comic you've started on."

I shudder. _Gods, no! She's isn't supposed to see that I'm working on that. It was supposed to be a secret until I got it all done._ "Ho-how much did you read?" I ask nervously. _Please tell me you didn't read it all. Please tell me that you took one look and said you'd leave it alone until we met up again. Please!_

"All of it." My heart stopped. _W-what!? Oh, my gods! Oh, my gods! Oh, my gods! No no no no no!_ "I like that the story is about the four of us!"

I don't think I have a pulse at this point in the conversation. My body just freezes and I sit there, staring at Yang horrified by what she has told me. Like she told me she murdered someone casually and showed me the body just for laughs. I'm not laughing though and this is worse than a murder confession. "You… you're joking right?"

Yang winces, knowing that she accidentally stepped over a line. "N-no."

"YANG!"

"S-sorry. I was bored and you're pack was right there and-"

"So you decided to cure your boredom by looking through my backpack and my binder!?" I cry out. "You weren't supposed to see that comic yet!"

"I'm real sorry, but if it makes you feel any better. I like the idea." Yang stumbles over her word, clearly intimidated by my annoyance towards the fact that she chose to rummage through my things. Only one good thing has come out of this and it's that she said she liked the idea.

"Wait… you actually like the idea?" I ask, baffled.

Yang shrugs. "I mean… yeah, I like it. The story is interesting. A little on the weird, but interesting."

"I take offense to that," I say, turning my attention back to my binder full of papers.

"Sorry." She mutters. I feel bad for getting mad at the blonde. Yang most likely missed me at the moment and needed something to help her cope with it. Though she shouldn't be looking through my stuff, I can sympathize with her. I did take her hoodie one time because I was lonely... and cold, but mostly lonely.

I scan through the few panels I have and put them back in order which didn't take much time. "I didn't know you were into shrink stories," Yang spoke up, trying to restart the conversation about my comic creation.

"It's not a shrink story," I correct Yang by explaining the main basics of the story. "It's about a girl who loses her planet to these creatures known as Grimm. She, being the last survivor, is sent to earth, a peaceful planet for the most part. But what the girl didn't know is that the planet colliousel compared to her old one."

"So it's about a small alien coming to Earth?" Yang asks. "How'd you come with that idea?"

I freeze. Would she be happy to know that I got the idea from her? would she tease for something like that? I know I would never hear the end of it if I did. It is a bit of a dead give away since the comic is called pocket princess. I suppose I should give credit where credit is due. "Since you've called me small, short, tiny, and a pocket sized princess. I've decided to make it into a comic series."

A broad smile nearly splits across Yang after she hears what I said. "I knew it!"

My brows pinch together. "Knew what?"

"That you made a comic out of my idea." Yang crosses her arms in this cocky way it annoys me. "I just wanted to hear you say it."

A frown pushes down on my lips and my eyes narrow. "Can you come here for a second, Please." Yang obliges and steps up next to me. I pinch as much skin as I can on her abdomen and twist. Yang yelps and pulls away. "Weiss, what the hell!"

"That's what you get for reading my comic early," I say with an annoyed frown. "And don't do it again or next time will be ten times worse."

"Ooooh," Yang grumbles, rubbing her injury. "I'm so scared. What are you going to do? Run over my feet?" She snickers.

"No, I'm going to ask Klien to move you to the guest bedroom from now on."

She fakes a shocked face, putting a hand on her chest as if she were hurt. "You wouldn't dare."

I play along with the blonde, lips curling into a cruel smile. "Don't test me, Xiao-Long. You have no idea what I'm capable of."

"Jeez, you really are an ice queen."

"The iciest of them all."

We giggle at the playful threats afterward. The simple talk even made me forget that I was in a wheelchair. No other talk or conversation has done that to me with any other person. Only Yang. I suppose it shows how much she means to me.

"Would you like to take me on a grand tour of the manor little miss ice queen?" Yang asks as she grips the handle and pulls down causing me to have a mini heart attack when two wheels come off the floor. "Or are do I need to melt the ice queen before we start?" She whispers in my ear. Her lips easily brush against the rim of my ear causing a tingling feeling to crawl down my spine.

"N-no! No." I squeak, gripping my binder out of giddy nerves. "That's fine. We can start right now."

"Okay, great!" Yang wheels me around and out the door. "Where to first!"

"Well," I tap my chin thinking. "I can't really leave this level without the braces."

"Why don't you just put on the braces? You know, those robot legs that help you walk."

"They take too long to put on and take off," I grumble. "Plus they annoy me."

"Okay miss whiny pants," Yang says with so much sass. "Why don't I just give you a piggyback ride around your house."

"That's embarrassing."

"Than bridal style."

"No!"

"We're doing it!"

"No! N-Yaanngg!" The blonde brute easily scooped me in her arms. Mine went straight around her neck to keep myself safely secured. "You brute!"

All the blonde did was smile, saying. "You sure have gotten feisty since I first met the timid white-haired snow angel."

"Sorry that I've grown bolder in the last few months." I huff.

Yang chuckles and pecks me on the cheek. "That's what I love most about you need."

I pretend to be mad to try and hide the faint blush on my cheeks. The expression makes Yang laugh due to the fact that I may look like a child. An angry four year is what she would say to me.

"Aw, is da itty bitty princess getting all pouty wouty?" Yang snickers, mockingly. "Do you wanna a binky or your blanky?"

"Shut up," I grumble, slouching in the girl's arms. "And put me down," I demand.

Yang laughs, completely ignores my demands and continues our trek down the hall. I continue to tell her to take me back and to put me back in the wheelchair. Yang continues to be oblivious to my demands and walks throughout the manor. My cries and demands cause some of the maids and butlers to eye us with concern. I immediately become embarrassed which makes Yang laugh.

"Nothing to see here Ladies and gents," Yang exclaims with a brought smile. "Just caring my girl around."

"Yang, shut up." I yelp, swatting the brute in the chest, only to regret the action. Sometimes I forget Yang is super sensitive in that area. An area that I'm still and forever will be, lacking in.

Yang hisses in pain. "Okay, ow."

I go to grab the injured area, apologizing as I do only to then pull away realizing that I was about to grope my girlfriend. The thought of touching her… her… It's hard for my brain to comprehend. It also makes my face burn up fasting than a fire in the middle of an Altsian winter.

"Hey, Weiss," Yang says with a wince in her voice. "Can you do me a huge favor."

I blink several times. "W-what do you want me to do?"

She pretends to be in so much pain that she can barely speak. "Can… can you…"

"Hurry up and speak while you still can, brute."

"Can you… please… massage my boobs, they really hurt."

My face burns with anger and embarrassment. "You big oaf!"

Yang bursts into a fit of loud laughs that easily fill the now vacant halls in the manor. "You should have the look on your face! Priceless!"

"You. Are. The. Worst!" I yell, before grumbling. "Why couldn't I have a normal girlfriend instead… instead of you."

"Oh, come on. I can't possibly be that bad." Yang snickers. "I know you won't trade me for anyone else."

We make our way downstairs and to the foyer. Butlers and maids give us odd looks or mutter something under their breaths to their co-workers. I become incredibly uncomfortable with the attention. Yang though doesn't seem to care and acts oblivious to the workers. She even smiles and waves to some of the people that we wake by as if it were a regular walk in the park. Like it was normal to carry someone around like this.

"I see you two have decided to go out and explore." Mother calls out from afar. I can't tell you how embarrassing it is for me when mother sees me in Yang's arms. "Hm. What an interesting choice of travel, Weiss. I thought you would wear the braces today, but you do tell me nearly every day of every hour how you hate them and how they make you feel like you're half robot."

"What's up, mama Schnee how is your day going so far," Yang asks in the most unprofessional way possible.

Mother doesn't seem bothered by the way Yang asked. "I'm doing... well, Yang. How are you?"

"Pretty good," Yang smiles. "Just taking your daughter out on a lovely stroll through your house. I'd like to say that you have a beautiful home."

"Why thank you." Mother smiles with this warm mirth. "Most people say we do live in a luxurious house, but they never sound as sincere as you."

"Thanks," Yang replies though I'm sure she's thinking about whether mother's reply was a compliment or not.

"Well enjoy your say, love. I'm sure to see you two wandering around again." Mother waves to us as she walks away.

Once she turns the corner, Yang asks me something that comes out of left field. "Do you think she hates me?"

I look at Yang for a moment before turning to the direction mother walked in. "No, I don't think so. Why?"

"I don't know." Yang shrugs. "I just got this weird feeling when we talked."

"What do you mean a weird feeling?" I ask with creased brows. "Can you describe it to me?"

"I can't explain a weird feeling, Weiss," Yang grumbles as she readjusts me in her arms. "It's… it was just some weird feeling okay."

"Well…" I don't know what to actually do to help. "What's the closest feeling to it?"

Yang gives me a worried look. "It's like this feeling that she doesn't trust me."

"She… doesn't trust you?"

"Yeah…" Yang's shoulders slump and she gets this glum look on her face. "I wonder why…"

It may be Dice's doing. Telling mother that Raven, Yang's mom, sent one of her gang members after me. She's scared that Yang may pose a threat or have the same brutality and violence. I don't tell Yang that though. Knowing it will make her feel worse. She doesn't need to worry about mother anyway. She trusts the blonde enough to look after me which gives me faith that she doesn't entirely distrust Yang. I pray she doesn't tell Dice about Yang being here. Who knows what could happen.

"I'm sure she's stressed and overworked due to the fact that mother is about to regain control of the company." I lie. "She's just trying to get used to everything that has changed around here."

Yang though doesn't seem too confident in my answer. I don't sound confident in my answer anyway. "Maybe you're right. I bet your mom has a lot on her plate and can't handle the stress just yet. That or I may be losing my mind because of you." Yang turns the conversation to a lighter tone. One which I'm thankful for.

"Are you losing your mind in a good way or a bad way?" I ask leaning up close to the girl's face.

She smirks, muttering. "I'm crazy for you, Weiss Schnee... which is... a... good... thing." Our lips lock once again. The kiss sucks all the air my lungs easily. As quickly as the kiss comes it ends. "You're so close to becoming an expert at kissing."

"Oh," I smile. "And what does it take to become an expert?"

Yang opens her mouth but snaps it shut quickly. She shakes her head as if it were a silly notion. "It's nothing."

The smile I had beds to a frown. "It's something if you're hiding it from me," I say.

"Yeah, but… nothing. It's dumb. It's completely dumb." Yang replies, adding. "Don't worry about it Weissicle."

She's hiding something from me. Something she won't say when we are out in the open like this. And I'm sure I have a pretty good idea of what it is. We haven't talked much about it anyway, but Yang knows how I feel about sex. A… touchy, feely relationship. I'm in no shape to do something like that with her. I have zero experience in how to… please someone in that kind of way. At some point, later most likely, I'll bring this up. Not bluntly, but maybe ease her into it. Yang would do the same thing for me, wouldn't she?

"Hey! Do you have some type of wheely chair or office chair around?" There she goes again, flipping the subject.

I blink, confused as to what she has planned. "Dice does have a chair in his office. Why do you ask?"

A creepy and mischievous grin that can easily rival the Joker's, splits Yang face wide open. "Oh, no reason."

"Is this what you call no reason!" I scream, gripping the armrests on the office. I didn't see any harm in it at the time of telling Yang about the office chair and I never thought she would run down the halls of Schnee manor at full speed with office chair with me in the seat. "You're going to get us killed!"

"No, I'm not!" Yang calls back. "Just relax and enjoy the fun!"

She makes a sharp turn down another long hallway, One maid with fresh towels jumps out of the way before she gets run down by the office chair of death. Yang hollers back an apology and keeps going. The blonde seemed to be running on an endless amount of energy. It scares me and I grip the armrests until my knuckles are past the color of white. I'm sure at some point they would become clear. Yang's laughs of joy and excitement causes me to worry about my safety and the safety of others.

I try to beg Yang to stop or at least slow down. "Please, Yang! You're going to hurt someone or us!"

Yang though acts oblivious to my pleas. Throwing caution to the wind easily. "We're fine princess! If we need to stop, I got it! Try to have some faith in me!"

 _Oh, I do have faith in you!_ I scream in my head. _I faith in the fact that you'll get us in so much trouble as well!_

"Yang, please!" I cry out, trying my best to muster up my pleading and begging voice. If Yang has a soft spot for people like me that plead, she'd stop.

This time the blonde listens.

Yang slows down to a stop. We both are panting for air as if we just ran the fastest race in our lives. My fear slips away and is quickly replaced with anger fury.

"You brute!" I cry out, doing my best to turn around and face the blonde. All I can do is make small wiggles around. "Are you trying to get me killed!"

"No. Just trying to have some fun!"

"Does this fun involve not running other people over?"

Yang thought for a moment. "Mmmm…. YES!"

I sigh deeply. "Why do you have to act so childish."

"Because someone has to be the childish one in this relationship." Yang smiles, then starts to push me forward again. My hands shoot to the armrests. "Besides we need some fun after everything that has happened."

She has a point. It's not the best point, but I'm glad Yang is looking for something positive to focus on instead of something negative. I'm also glad she's able to be the happy-hearted person of this relationship as well. Gods know I can't be the positive one.

"Would you like to go on a walk?" Yang asks.

"After nearly running over a maid and dying of a heart attack, you're asking if I would like to go on a walk?" I ask.

"Mmm… Yeah." Yang smiles brightly.

I sigh. "Okay, but you'll have to wait for me to get my braces on."

"Don't worry, Weissicle. I'm a patient person."

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 **So another short chapter. Sorry. I've just been super busy with the non-existent life that I have. Love the criticism and the comments. Honestly, those are the two things that keep me writing. Like, comment, subscribe and I'll see you guys next time. BYE!**


	39. Chapter 39

**So there is some stuff in this chapter that is more on the M side of things. I'm giving y'all a warning for this chapter. Sorry for taking so long. Enjoy the chapter.**

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Yang's PoV

I put the office chair back where it rightfully belongs and carried Weiss back up to her room. She kept on scolding me for how dumb I acted. Saying that it was foolish of me to run around in the halls with an office chair. Weiss did admit that she had fun even if it was frightening. Once up to her room, Weiss tells me to put her on the bed and to get these brace like things in the closet that's close to the bathroom.

"They look like normal leg braces," Weiss says. "But they are robotic looking and white."

I give her a thumbs up in understanding and head the closet. When opening the door the room doesn't look that big, but I clicked on the light and the room grew ten times bigger. Weiss's closet is almost threes times the size of my bathroom. Rows and rows shoes lined up against one side of the wall, each with their own personal box. Dresses, thick fancy coats, and other types of clothes completely covered up the other half of the room.

"They should be in the very back of the closet covered up by a black blanket," Weiss calls. "And don't touch anything. Mathias will have an enormous fit if you do."

"Don't touch anything. Got it." I mutter as I make my way to the back. A black blanket sits in one of the corners. I pull the blanket away to see two white and black robotic like braces that look like they are strapped to the knees and not the entire leg. I easily lift both of them up with one hand and take them out to Weiss. "Are these it?"

The white-haired girl nods. "Yes, now put them on my legs and I'll do the rest."

I slip on the braces. They clamp shut around Weiss' legs. She reaches down on side of her robotic brace, pushes a button and the braces turn on. Little plates of metal begin to build themselves on the outside of the princess' legs. Once they reach her waist, the white plating thins out and builds around her waist like a belt. Clicking together like LEGO pieces when the two ends meet. Weiss' shins are covered with the white metal that easily bends like rubber. She kind of looks like a cyborg from the future. Weiss stand effortlessly.

"Woah." I breathe. "Your stepdad is a genius."

Weiss rolls her eyes when hearing the compliment about her stepdad. "Dice didn't invent these braces, Yang. He hired a team of engineers, doctors, and scientists to make these."

"They still look cool though," I reply.

Weiss thought for a moment then looked down at the pieces of machinery. "I suppose they do look cool."

"It kind of makes you look like a super robot," I add. "Like you have super speed from those bionic legs or maybe there are little jets in there that make you fly like iron man."

Weiss, again, rolls her eyes. "I highly doubt that."

"But that would be so cool though," I exclaim. "You could just fly to the top shelf of a bookcase and pick out what you need without using the latter or a stepping stool or me to get them all the time."

"It would be fun, Yang, but I still struggle controlling my legs." Weiss pipes up. "And I were able to fly than I would need full control of my body doing so."

I thought for a moment or two. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

"Of course I'm right." Weiss smiles a bit smugly. "I am the ice queen after all."

I wrap an arm around the small girl's shoulder. "You may be the ice queen, but you're still my little pocket princess. Now about that walk."

We make our way down to the courtyard where many flowers are. Blue ones, yellow, red one, purple one, and even black ones. Several birds chirp and fly by, landing in the nearby trees. Bees buzz happily around the flowers, collecting nectar. They quickly float away and when I brush my fingers the flowers.

"This place is a palace for fairies," I mutter.

"Mother used to tell me that the fairies would live in the trees. In the roots or the empty knots. They would tend to the flowers or animals that live here." Weiss tells me as she takes a seat on one of the nearby benches. "I would look for them every time I came out here. Mother said they would rather not be discovered. It causes them to lose their magic."

I smirk. "You sound a lot like Ruby when she was a kid."

The comment makes the girl smile. "What did you do as a kid."

"Nothing much," I say simply. "I was always on the more athletic side of things. Ruby never liked it whenever we use to play fight. I would always win which is why she didn't like it."

"But you two are close?" Weiss asks.

"We are very close," I reply. I walk over and take a seat next to the white-haired girl. "We did almost everything together. Though sometimes we would want our space. Even if that nerdy girl can be a pain in my ass, I still love her to death and nothing can change that. Not even if she becomes a murder."

Weiss soft smile slowly drooped into a sad frown. "I wish my sister and I were close."

I throw an arm over the girl and pull her in close. "Well… what about your stepbrother, William?" I thought bringing up her younger brother would be better than talking about her lame sister, I was wrong.

"Will and I… he and I were more than just siblings. We are best friends who had each other's backs." She smiles sadly, resting her hands in her lap. "Believe it or not we would get into a lot of trouble together around the manor. Dice thought it was good of us to be close to each other and after Winter left to work with Ironwood, we drew even closer together. I remember every night when it rained he would come in and climb into bed with me." The smile falls and tears begin to prick the corners of the girl's eyes. "I remember his little smile and how excited he got whenever I got home from school."

"Hey, hey, hey," I speak up softly. I reach over and wipe her tears off her cheeks with a thumb. "I am sorry I brought up your brother. I just… I knew you two had a better relationship than you and Winter did. I didn't mean for it to bring up some emotional memories."

Weiss waves me off like she always does. "No worries. It helps to remind me every now and then that I had a brother. That I had a family that wasn't so broken and spread out."

We sit in silence for a few moments, letting Weiss collect herself and her feelings.

"I'm glad that you have good memories of your brother before he passed away," I mutter. "Unlike some… less than happy memories of… other people." Another long pause.

Both of us are stumped as to what we should talk to each other about. There are many things that I want to talk to Weiss about, but I don't know if she wants to talk about them with me. Somethings might be too sensitive to talk about with her. I'm always cautious about the line in the conversations we have.

"I have a good guess about what you were referring to earlier," Weiss pipes up. "After we kissed."

I cringe and try not to show it. "You do?"

"Yes and…" She bites her lip out of nervousness. "I nervous about stuff like that as you already know, but that doesn't mean I want to hide from it, Yang. I know that at some point I'll do it. I just… I may not… oh, gods what am I trying to say."

"You might not know what to do during sex," I say bluntly for her. "It's fine. Everyone has to learn at some point."

I notice out of the corner of my eye Weiss' hand clamp together uncomfortably. She shifts as well in her seat. "Well… y-yes… that. B-but I don't mean the whole thing. My family believes in marriage before sex… are… are you okay with that? I-I understand if you don't like those terms, but…"

"Nah, it's fine." I shrug, smiling the biggest smile. "Though I wouldn't mind getting you ready for something like sex with your significant other." My brows wiggle suggestively.

Weiss rolls her eyes. "That's still sex before marriage you oaf."

"Not if it's above the waist." I point out.

"That's… a good point." Weiss mumbled, pulling her gaze away. She still uncomfortable with this talk.

"Look, I totally understand if you don't want to do stuff like that. It's up to you if you're entirely ready to have sex or not. It's like you said, Weiss. You'll have to do it at some point." I clarify. "Now that doesn't mean I _don't_ have to give you any pointers, but if you don't feel comfortable to do it with me then that's fine. It's just…"

"You really want to," Weiss mutters. "I can tell that you've thought about this a lot, Yang." She turns to me with curious eyes. "Why… Why do you want to do something like that with me? I'm not any special than any of the other people you've…"

"I've never really had sex, Weiss. Not with anyone in the past, not even with… Amber." A swell of emotions rises in my chest. I push them back down and carry on. "But you're different, Weiss. You make me feel like… like you're the only person I need for the rest of my life." I pause for a moment, choosing my next words wisely. "And I… I… I never had that feeling before…"

Weiss blinks several times out of shock. "N… never?"

I shake my head. "Never. No one ever completes me like you do."

The smile I try to bring back pulls on Weiss' lips. Not saying that all those things about her completing me weren't true. They are truer than the gods of Remnant themselves. There is nothing I wouldn't do for her. I love Weiss too much and… that's the problem. I love Weiss and I'm tired of saying it. I want to show her how I feel. What I'll give to her. She doesn't feel ready, I know, but when will she be ready? I can't wait forever, but if I could get her to take the next step then I would be more than pleased. But if I wait any longer then I might scream.

"Why am I any- mhf!"

I couldn't take it anymore. She just opened her pretty mouth and I couldn't hold myself back. I grab her face and pull her into a deep and passionate kiss. She moans happily. A sign that I'm doing the right thing. Weiss' hands wonder to my back, pulling me in close. My own hands wonder as well. To her sides and moving up.

Weiss is small and well curved around the midriff. My hands travel up and down her sides, feeling her shape. I get lost in the kiss now losing track of where my hands go. Weiss stops all of the sudden. Her hands pull away from my back and grip my arm. I pull away, realizing what I had done. I was so lost in the heat of the moment that my hands found their way into Weiss' shirt, resting a few inches under her left breast.

"Holy shit!" I pull away, shooting straight off my seat and stumble. "Oh, my gods. Oh, my gods. Oh, my gods! I'm so so so sorry, Weiss. I… I-I didn't know what I was doing. I just… I just got lost and… I messed up so damn hard!"

"Yang, it's okay." Weiss tries to reassure me, but we both know it's not okay. "It felt okay…. it felt good, really good."

I blink once out of confusion. "Then… why'd you stop?"

"Because I'm scared of what it will be like." She mutters, shamefully looking away. "I'm afraid that I'll want more, that I'll crave it so much that…" Weiss' voice fades into silence.

"Weiss," I speak up. "It's okay if you don't want to do something more intimate than what we are already doing. It's okay to be unsure of what you want right now."

She's silence for a minute. "But it's not okay for you to wait on me. After everything you've done and all the time you've spent on me, that's not fair. It's not, Yang. I want to show you how much I love and care about you, but I'm a coward to do so."

"No, no you're not." I take my seat again, rest a hand on her shoulder and pull Weiss close. "You're being cautious."

"I'm being dumb about this situation."

I frown and flick her in the forehead. "Quit being a dummy."

Weiss rubbed her injury, "Ow," She whines.

"You need to stop," I grumble. "This isn't about what I want it's about what you want."

"No, it's about what we both want as a couple." She states so boldly. "I want… I want to be more intimate with you, Yang. You are my partner and we… I should feel comfortable in doing things like this with you. I want to express my feelings and you do too."

I smile warmly. "Okay… well, how about tonight?"

Weiss' face grows pale. "Tonight?! What do you mean tonight!"

"I'll give you some pointers on how to please a girl seeing that you've never done it before," I say relaxingly. "Of course we won't go below the waist. My parents would totally hang me if I had full out sex with someone I don't plan on marrying in the future. That is why I never really do the shabang with anyone."

"Not even with me?" Weiss asks pitifully.

"If you plan on marrying me soon then I wouldn't do it," I reply.

"Are you saying I'm not the right one?" I had to strain my ears to hear what Weiss muttered. "Do you not want to spend the rest of your life with me?"

A deep sigh presses out of my lungs. "That's not what I'm saying, Weiss. We've only known each other for about six or seven months. I'd like a relationship to last one and a half to two years before we talk about marriage."

Weiss sighs thoughtfully. I hate it when she does that because then she cuts me off from what she's thinking about. If she were open about it then I could help her, but she suckles in her mind before pushing the thoughts aside and moving onto another subject. I understand that Weiss doesn't want to talk about sex, but she's the one that brought it up.

"Weiss," I sigh deeply. "That's not what I meant. We're not ready for something like marriage."

The girl mulls for a moment. "You're right. I shouldn't rush something like marriage when we are about to have… some type of intimate time tonight."

I snicker. "Yeah, I guess you could put it like that. But you are sure you want to do this tonight? We can always wait until tomorrow."

"Yang Xiao-Long. Are you not the one who brought up the whole 'Let's do it tonight!' thing." Weiss grumbles unhappily.

I rub the nape of my neck. "Yeah, but I only meant it as a joke."

"Well, your joke just turned into truth." The small white haired girl complained. Those words put a doped up smile on my face as Weiss' face grew redder and redder. "Wait that's not what… I didn't mean for it…"

"Did you just agree?" I ask with the sliest smirk. I expected her to back down, but Weiss stands her ground and confesses.

"Yes, I did agree to do… whatever we are doing tonight." I pump a fist in the air. "Only if you can control yourself."

"Pfft! Please, Weiss. I can control myself."

Later in the day, when it is getting closer to tonight time, I can see Weiss getting more and more tense about our little activity for the night. I've told her several times that we don't need to start tonight. That we could do it tomorrow night or sometime next week. But Weiss, being the way she is, tells me no that we shouldn't hold off any longer. I commend her for her steady answer. Who knows, maybe she wanted this all along and now that it's happening I'm back down.

Weiss and I had just finished our dinner. Steak, a potato, steamed broccoli, and rice. A luxury meal that we rarely have at home. A great meal to start the night. Klein came, took our platters, and asked if we needed anything else. Weiss said no and that she wouldn't be needing his serves for the rest of the night. Which means 'We'll be busy tonight so don't bother us.' I finish brushing my teeth and spit out the foam. Weiss is already in bed waiting for me. When stepping out of the bathroom, I notice the concerning look on Weiss' face. She must be having second thoughts.

"You okay?" I ask, taking a seat next to Weiss.

"Yeah, it's just…. It's cereal that we are about to do this. That we are about to have sex for the first time."

"Up-up-up. Not sex, Weiss. I am simply going to give you some pointers on what to do during sex." I say, popping off the bed to flick off the lights. "Of course, we've agreed to wait on the full experience." The lights flip off and Weiss gasps out of fright. A small lamp light clicks on which causes me to snicker. "You know, most of this stuff happens in the dark right?"

"I know," She grumbles, before softening her voice. "But can we keep the light on just this once. I've…. been getting nightmares for the last couple of weeks." She looks at me with pitiful eyes. "Please."

I sigh. "Yeah, we can."

She breathes out a sigh of relief and sinks back into the pillows. "Thank you."

I crawl back in bed, settling myself on Weiss' waist. "Eh, no problem." Weiss shrinks farther into the pillows, her red cherry face sticking out like a sore thumb against the white fluff. I giggle due to how adorable she looks. "Try to relax Weissicle. I'm not going to do anything bad. Now, if you don't want me to do something or you're not sure of what I'm going to do then squeeze my arm since not much talking goes on when having intimate times. Any questions?" Weiss is too embarrassed to answer. She can only shake her head. "Okay," I smile warmly. "Let's start."

"O-okay."

"Great!" I lean in close to rest my hands on either side of Weiss' head. I press my lips against Weiss' and take her breath away. We kiss and kiss and kiss. I pull out of the lip lock to give the girl a short breath. I brush lips against her jaw, warm breath breezing down her neck, and begin to start a trail of kisses down her jaw and neck. Weiss gives out a tiny gasp of pleasure. "Yang."

She wasn't telling me to stop. Weiss is enjoying it too much. _Already?_ I thought. _Man, she's not good at holding herself together._ I stop at her collarbone for a second, sucking for a moment. Weiss now whimpers lovingly, though I can tell she biting her lip to suppress the sound. Once my lips pull away from Weiss' pale skin, I can already see a little red mark forming. I aim for the neck this time, now letting my hands wander. Weiss is too busy to notice my hands slip under her shirt. I, once again, feel her small curvy body under my fingertips and palms. She felt great! I finish with her neck, moving back to her lips, nipping at her bottom lip for a second before Weiss pulls me into a strong kiss. I can feel the heat between us rising a couple of inches.

My hands find themselves covering two small plumps known as Weiss' breasts. They're nice and warm against the palms of my hands. I give them a squeeze that snaps Weiss back to reality. She grabs my arm so tight that I thought it would fall off due to blood loss.

"Wh- what…" She breathes scarcely. "What are you… doing?"

It takes me a moment to reel myself back in. "Just… giving your little ladies some attention. Do you not like it."

"N-no!" She blurts out. "No. Don't squeeze too hard, okay?"

"Okay." I give her breasts a light squeeze. Weiss moans softly. _There it is._ Before I go back to pampering Weiss, I eye her baggy shirt for few second. "Would you like to take off the shirt?" Weiss bites her lip and nods slowly. "Kay."

I take the hem of the shirt and begin to pull up. Weiss raises her arms and the shirt comes off. I throw it on the ground close by. Her shirt hid so much beauty, so much flawless milky white skin. Weiss freaking hot. Weiss though doesn't look too confident in her choice. She squirms uncomfortably under my gaze. A light bulb then pops in my head and I quickly take off my shirt as well. Weiss yelps and covers her eyes when my breasts nearly bounce free if it weren't for the bra to stop them that is.

"Calm down, I haven't taken off my bra," I say as I reach for the clasp. It comes undone with ease and I throw the fabric to the side. Weiss though still has her eyes covered. "Oh, come on, Weiss. They're just boobs." She says and does nothing. "Fine." I huff, crossing my arms. "I planned on sharing tonight, but I guess you don't want any." Again, nothing from Weiss.

I grumble and try to find something that will take away Weiss' hands from her face. Then I leaned in close to her stomach and blow a quick raspberry which causes Weiss' hands to shoot straight to her belly to protect the spot. She laughs as she does so. I quickly scoop up her hands and pin them on either side of her head. Weiss' eyes grow wide when she realizes her mistake. I've never seen someone's face go from pale to redder than blood so fast. Her eyes so transfixed on my chest as if they put her in a trance. They tend to do that a lot.

She relaxes her muscles unknowingly. I pick her hand and press it against a breast. She shutters, scared and wanting to pull her hand away, but I hold it there.

I tell her to stay relaxed, to stay calm. "Stuff like this normal," I say softly, pulling my hand away.

Weiss keeps her hand as steady as possible when I let her hold the sack fatty flesh with milk in them. I mean that is what boobs are after all. Her eyes dull when I see her other hand go to her own chest. A sad frown tugs at her lips when both hands travel down. Her fingers now brushing against my tone stomach and as she feels her flat one. I can already see Weiss criticizing her own body.

I holt the terrible thoughts that brew in her mind with a simple kiss between the breasts. Weiss gasps, taken completely off guard by my actions. "That's one thing you can't do to people with big boobs."

"If I tried that with you then I would probably get sucked in." Weiss snorts.

"Probably," I laugh lightly.

I let my fingers brush over Weiss' body. They come across the thick pink scar. Weiss grabs my arm gently. I know she doesn't like it when people see her scar. Heck, I am surprised that she is even let me touch it right now. There is one thing that I've always wanted to do though. I lean close to the pink cut and press my lips against it as gently as I can.

When I pull slowly, I notice the small smile on Weiss' lips. "Thanks, Yang," she mutters.

"N-no problem," I whisper, before pressing my hands against Weiss' breasts and knead them softly.

Weiss hums happily, her hand squeezes my breast roughly which I am not okay with. "Weiss!" I hiss.

The haired girl pulls her hand away. "S-sorry."

I grumble and go back to kneading. For a few minutes, Weiss' little whimpers and moans fill the room as I continue to massage her and kiss her. She tells me to shortly after starting up again. She says she can't take any more of it, even if it felt so good, she needed to stop. The girl has some serious control.

I respect her answer and flop down next to the whites haired girl and relax, letting my boobs do whatever. I can feel Weiss watching them bounce a little.

"Okay, Weiss. Time to test you on what you've learned tonight." I say putting my hands behind my head. "Show me what you've got." When Weiss doesn't move, I look to see if she's transfixed on my breasts. She's simply staring right back at me. Then I realize she can't. "Oh, shit! I… I'm sorry. I forgot that you were…. Gods I am so sorry."

Weiss snickers. "You're fine. For a bit, I forgot as well."

There's is only one way to redeem myself for this stupid action. I roll over, wrap my arms around Weiss and roll back over, taking her with me. "There we go."

Weiss has her hands planted on both sides of us. She tries lifting herself off of me, but I stop her by keeping my wrapped arms around her waist. All Weiss gets is a good glance at my boobs and abs. Two things which never cease to impress the girl.

"You can touch them if you'd like." I say, knowing all too well that she wants to."Don't be shy." Weiss shakes her head no. "Come on, Weiss! My girls are begging for attention!" I whine, pulling out the puppy eyes look.

"O-okay. Okay. Just give me a moment to collect myself." I wait patiently for Weiss to get to work. It's been a while, so I might have forgotten what it feels li- _ah. Okay._ I groan softly when Weiss brushes her palm over my breast. She takes the flesh in her hand and begins to massage it. The feeling of living electricity runs through my fast pace thumping heart.

"Gods, your good… _mmm…_ at this!" I sputter.

Weiss doesn't reply, she's too busy working her magic. She releases this one and goes to the other. I bite my lip when a moan ebbs from my throat. _Gods, she beautiful, smart, talented and can give damn good massages too!_

Weiss let's go after another loving minute. She leans down, pressing her breasts against mine, her slender finger brushing against my cut cheek. Weiss comes closer and plants a kiss on it. I smile dumbly as she rolls off of me and rests her head on my shoulder.

"Is that it?" She asks, her hand sliding up and down my stomach. "Or is there more?"

I think for a second. "Do you want to do more or are you too tired?"

She yawns softly like a cat. "We… we can but I don't know how long I'll last."

 _Sleep time it is! "_ Okay." I grab the blanket and pull it over the both of us and we fall asleep, happily holding each other close.

* * *

 **So, yeah. I don't usually do stuff like that if you can't tell by the writing. Hope you guys enjoyed. Leave some criticism. I like it when y'all some things out for me. It really does help. Like, comment, subscribe, and I'll see you guys next time! BYE!**


	40. Chapter 40

**Thanks for the support on last weeks chapter. I was a bit nervous about posting it. I've been trying to get these chapters out faster, but with so much stuff happening, it's hard to get these chapters done. I know you guys don't want to hear an excuse, but I'm just throwing it out there. Enjoy the chapter and I'll see y'all next time.**

* * *

The next morning is… an experience. When I woke I had somehow moved Weiss on top of my now sore breasts, her head rests nicely on my naked chest as well as a hand. The scene reminds me of the first time we slept together. So much has happened since then. So much good and so much bad, but I'm sure the good outweighs the bad easily.

Weiss groans and rolls her head to face the opposite direction. A cool cheek presses up against my chest. I shiver at the touch. It doesn't bother me too much though. I stroke the silky white hair out of Weiss' face. She looks so calm and peaceful when sleeping. It makes my heart flutter in my chest.

The milky smooth skin of her back under my fingers causes a thankful smile to cross my face. What am I thankful for you ask? I'm thankful for the most beautiful girl in all of Remnant. I'm thankful for the smartest girl I know. I'm thankful for all of her imperfections, her kindness, her shyness, her body, her heart. I'm thankful for Weiss for being the way she is.

I feel a little wiggle and light squeeze on my breast. Weiss has been aroused and is waking up.

"Morning, sleepy head," I say softly. "How are you feeling."

She grumbles and buries herself deeper into my chest. "Grrr!"

I giggle. "Someone's a little ray of sunshine this morning."

"Gerrrmm!" The grumbles cause my chest to vibrate. "So tired!"

I rest a hand Weiss' head and stroke my fingers through her hair. "Your hair is still really pretty despite what we did last night."

Weiss' head pops her most prized pillow, her eyes wide with fear. "What did we do last night?! Was it something bad!"

"No, you useless lesbian." I snort. "We didn't do anything bad except for the fact that you're a great boob massager."

"What!" She looks down. "Oh, my gods!" She slaps a hand over her eyes to either protect what's left on her innocence or to keep herself from going blind by my beauty. "Yang! Why do you not have a shirt on!"

"Why are you so surprised!" I cry out. "You don't have a shirt on either!"

"What!" Weiss covers her chest with an arm. "Why am I shirtless!"

"Because we did some fun stuff last time!" I exclaim with a wiggle of the brows

"What!" She screamed right in my face. "You mean we had… we had sex!"

I shake my head, snickering. "You really don't remember."

Weiss is quiet for a minute, mulling over her thoughts to see if she can recall anything. "I remember a few details. How you were on top of me, kissing me, touching me. Then you pulled off my shirt and my mind went blank."

"Damn, Schnee. You missed the best part of the whole night." I chuckle. "You were all hands on deck last night and it felt like a slice of heaven to me."

Weiss' face paled. "I didn't… there's no way I would have done…."

"Calm down," I say, propping myself up. "You only gave me a boob massage which was super nice."

Weiss watches me scarcely, her eyes falling to my chest and up to my eyes, her face going from pale to red. "I remember now."  
I relax back into the pillows, stretching my arms, waving Weiss to join me. "I'm glad you do. Now come here. My tits are freezing." Weiss rolls her eyes and lays down. I coddle her head close to my beating heart. "Ahhh! Now I'm all warm and toasty."

We quietly enjoy each other's company. A great night and even better morning. I hum happily knowing that we've finally taken the next step in our relationship. That we're willing to do something like this. Well… some try to find a reason not to, but I can't really blame Weiss for being nervous about this kind of stuff. Everyone, even me, the Yang Xiao-Long, gets a bit nervous about being more intimate with a partner because you never know if they are doing it for love or do it for their own selfish pleasure which happens way too often in this day and age. Does nobody want true love anymore?

"I've never really wanted to openly admit this, Yang, but," Weiss' voice snaps me out of my train of thought. "You have a comfortable chest." I hold back a snicker as Weiss continues to talk. "Yours is pillowy, squishy, cushy, and nice to rest a head on…. mine are just skin and bone."

 _Okay! Hold it right there!_

"Weiss," I grumble. "We've talked about this."

"I know, I know…. I just wish it were true though." She mutters quietly.

My teeth grit out of annoyance and anger. I throw Weiss off and quickly pin her to the bed. "Now you listen and you better listen well or else. You, Weiss Schnee, have the most beautiful body I have ever laid eyes on. You have smooth skin, beautiful sparkling blue eyes, silky hair that looks purer than snow and softer any comfortable blanket you own. If you ever feel ugly on the outside, just know that you look beautiful in my eyes no matter what."

"So sappy, Yang," Weiss remarks. "You have given this speech several times."

I lean in close. "I could show you how I feel about you."

"Oh, are you now?" Weiss smirks.

"Yeah." We lock lips for a moment. Weiss wraps her hands around my head, pulling me in deeper and deeper. _She's gotten good at this._ My hands find themselves cupping Weiss' small, beautiful, perfect breast. She moans as my hands go to work.

A buzz from the nightstand pulls us away. Weiss sighs when the phone buzzes again. "You should get that."

I reach for the phone to see who it is. My eyes widen in fear. In bold letters sitting on the top has **Mom** written out. I gulp hard and slide the answer button. "H-hello?"

" _Yang Xiao-Long!"_ Summer screamed angrily. " _What have you been doing?!"_

 _Hello to you too._ I thought. "Mom, I swear I forgot. I just got overly excited about seeing Weiss again and I forgot to call you."

" _I have been worried about you!"_ Summer yelled _. "We haven't gotten a call for nearly two days! And what about Ruby! She's been worried about you and Penny!"_

I cringe realizing how badly I've messed up. "I'm sorry, mom. I'm so so sorry. I should have remembered."

There's a deep sigh coming from the other side. _"What am I going to do you my little Goldie locks. All right, I forgive you this time, but once you get home you are on dish duty for two months. Understand?"_

Though it does seem fair, I grumble and moan about the chore I've been assigned to for the next two months. "Yes, ma'am."

"Good." Mom clears her throat then asks if I know anything about Penny's condition.

I crawl out of bed, plucking up mine and Weiss' shirt off the floor. "I haven't called the hospital about Penny, mom. I've been busy catching up with Weiss."

A scared gasp comes from behind me. I turn to see if Weiss is in trouble. A mixed look hurt and sorrow on her face gives me a good indication that Weiss knows something about Penny that we don't. Something bad.

"What is it, Weiss?" I ask, handing Weiss her shirt.

She quickly slips on her shirt, explaining to me the situation. "I have called the hospital several times asking about Penny. They never told me anything useful except that she was alive. But… recently, when I called, the lady told me some terrible news. Penny has succumbed to her injuries."

I don't react as shockingly as I did with Jaunes passing. Maybe it's because I didn't know Penny as well. Maybe it's because I've chosen to forget about the little orange haired girl. Maybe it's because I didn't care for the girl in the first place. Penny was a little on the strange side when we first met and I didn't really approve of her being Ruby's friend. But, for some reason, she kind of grew on me. I'm not sure why I don't feel as much of a loss from this then Jaune. I didn't know Jaune that well either. Either way, I know Ruby will be crushed when hearing the news.

" _Yang? Are you still there?" Mom asks with a nervous shake in her voice. "What did She say about Penny?"_

"Yeah…. go get Ruby, mom. There is something I need to tell her." I say sorrowfully.

Weiss bites her lip in shame as I hand the phone over to her so I can put on my shirt. We can hear Mom call to Ruby to come here. A minute or so ticks by then Ruby's pops up on the phone.

" _Hello?"_ She answers with such innocence that it crushes my heart.

I put the phone back against my ear. "Ruby?"

" _Oh, hey, Yang! How are you have you heard from Penny yet? How is Weiss doing?"_ Ruby asks with enthusiasm.

"Weiss is good. She's fine,... but I-I need you to take a deep breath right now." I say trying to calm myself down. This will be the second time I've told my sister, my sweet baby rosebud, that one of her closest friends have died. "Ruby, I…. I'm sorry."

" _What?"_ The girl is taken off guard. " _Why are you sorry?"_

"I'm sorry, Ruby, but Penny," I swallow hard. "didn't make it. She's… she's not coming home."

There is silence on the other side. My eyes flow to Weiss as I wait for Ruby answer. Seconds later, the phone clatters to the ground and footsteps are heard fading away from it. A second set steps come in and the phone is scooped off the ground. Mom calls to Ruby, trying to get her to come back.

"What's happening?" Weiss whispers.

I hold up a finger, telling her to wait. "Just a second."

" _What did you say, Yang? What happened to Penny?"_ Mom demand.

"Penny's dead, mom."

After the call, Weiss and I sat in bed, quietly staring off into space. Everything seems so blank and dull. So many questions pop in my head and disappear just to be replaced by another question. How long has Penny been gone? Why didn't we know sooner? What will happen to Ruby? Will she continue college without her best friend? How is she doing right now? Should I go back home to comfort her? What will happen to Weiss when I leave?

"Hey!" I snap out of my deep thoughts when Weiss yells in my ear. Her only answer is several blinks then a blank stare. Weiss sighs and rests a hand on mine. "Are you okay?"

I shrug. "I don't know. I'm not really thinking about myself right now."

Weiss gives my hand a soft squeeze. "You're thinking about Ruby."

I nod. "Yeah. I never had a real connection or friendship with Penny, but Ruby loved her like a sibling. So I guess you could picture Ruby losing a sister of sorts."

Weiss sighs deeply. "I hope she will be alright. After losing two good friends, I hope Ruby can pull through."

"She will," I say. "Ruby is strong. Sometimes too strong for her own good. She sounds like me now that I think about it."

Weiss smiles softly, doing her best to put as much happy emotion behind it. "She's just as stubborn as well."

I scoff. "Don't remind me."

There is another long pregnant silence. Neither of us to seem too keen on the idea of getting out of bed, getting in the bath, cleaning off and getting dressed. We might skip the bath and go straight to getting dressed. We might skip both and walk around looking like tired zombies who tried to pass an algebra lll test as eight in the morning. Those always sucked ass back in High school. Like a punch in the gut or something. One thing is for sure though, I have no desire to get out of bed and be productive.

"Hey, Weiss?"

"Yes?"

"Can I ask you something important?"

"Yes."

"Can you give me a good massage. I really need one right now."

Weiss' brows push together. "Why do you need a massage right now."

I slump back into the bed covers. "Because my boobs get sore whenever I don't wear a bra to bed. Also, I swear you have magic hands when it comes to massage."

Weiss rolls her eyes. "I know you're trying to lighten the mood, but now is not the time for a chest massage, Yang. We have to get ready for the day and I have therapy until lunch. Now help me out."

I eye Weiss for a second. The gears in my head turn, trying to form an idea. _She can't walk so…. I'm going to use that to my advantage._ "No. Not until you give me what I want."

"No," Weiss grumbles. "I'm not doing it."

I make a face with the combination of and smirk and a raised brow and crawl over the small girl straddling her, my shirt easily showing off the amazing cleavage. "Come on," I say in a seductive voice. "I know you want to touch them."

It didn't take much for Weiss to cup my breasts and begin to massage. Or, at least, I thought she was going to do that. Weiss squeezes hard, hand easily sinking into the flesh of my chest.

I yelp. "Okay. Okay. You win."

The white-haired girl smirks. "Good." She releases her death grip on me and I rub my breasts with my forearm.

"Ow."

"Now get out of bed and start the water in the bath," Weiss demands.

I grumble. "Why do we need to get up so early. Klein hasn't even brought us food yet."

"It's 7:00 Yang. Klein doesn't make breakfast until 8:00." Weiss points out. "Now quit complaining and go start the bath." Another loud annoying groan and I roll out of bed and head to the bathroom.

The bath warms up easily and I get Weiss her bathing suit. _Bathing suit. Hah!_ Pun intended. She undresses with ease and slips on the suit. I tie on her top while she works on the bottom. I keep my eyes on the smooth skin of her back, my fingers running down it.

"What are you doing?" Weiss aks so suddenly.

I pull back. "Nothing."

Totally got caught there but Weiss doesn't question my action. She let it slide this time. I release a quiet breath and take Weiss to the bath. I set her in the water slowly, feeling her shiver at the warmth of the water. Weiss positions herself in a comfortable spot and sits there soaking up all the water.

"Do you need anything else?" I ask because I haven't gotten ready for the day yet. She shakes her head no and I leave to get dressed for the day.

Minutes later, I come back to help Weiss out of the tub and set her on the toilet. Then I reach for a towel and hand it to her. I take another smaller towel and dry off her legs and feet. Next, I grab a brush and brush her hair out. Her hair may be wet but it's still soft and nice between the fingers.

"Can you braid my hair?" Weiss asks.

"Sure." I divide the hair into three separate strands and twirl them in between each other, weaving the strands back and forth between fingers. I tie it off and Weiss runs her fingers down the braid to check it.

"Thank you." She says, resting the braid on her shoulder.

"Eh. No problem."

I scoop her up in my arms and take her back into the room where the wheelchair awaits her. Weiss instructs me to take her the stairs where Klein will be waiting to take the chair and I'll take her. I wheel her to the grand hall staircase where Klein waits for us. I pick up Weiss and Klein takes the chair. Klein walks down with ease, but I have much more precious cargo on deck and walk down slower than usual.

Several people wait for us at the bottom. Papa Schnee, Miss Schnee, and Julius. A man around his thirties stands with them as well in a suit and tie stands next to Papa Schnee. The weird mustache on his face gives me the creeps. The man gives me a nasty look, but I brush it off.

"Good morning girls." Papa Schnee greets. "How did you two sleep?"

Weiss and I eye each other to see who would answer first. "Er… it was good Mister Schnee." I reply.

"Good, good." He says showing off his friendly and warm smile. "Weiss, Yang, this is the genius who helped design and built the robot braces, Arthur watts."

"Well, not to brag or anything, but I am the only genius behind the braces," Arthur smirks, tugging on his coat.

Weiss grumbles under her breath. "Is that they short wire all the time?" I snicker, knowing I'm the only one that heard her say it.

Watts raises a brow. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing, sir," I say, putting my hands up in defense. "I just… thought of something funny that happened last night."

"Would you like to tell us." The long thin man gestures to the few that stand here. "Or would you like to keep your mouth shut."

My jaw tightens, but I keep the smirk. "Sure thing Mister Mustache." And that is how our little _who can annoy the shit of who faster_ feud start. All content family friendly.

Watts' eyes narrow and turn to Papa Schnee. "I suggest you keep your servants in line, Nicholas."

Papa Schnee only hums, showing little acknowledgment to Watts 'suggestion'. "Moving on." He says. "Weiss has been having some trouble with the braces. They seem to be short-circuiting every now and then and it leaves my little snowflake at a standstill or has her falling on the ground."

"Hmm." Mister Mustache thinks for a moment, his long feet clop against the carpet floor as he walks up to Weiss. I take my place behind her just in case of...emergencies. He examines Weiss for a few moments. "They are not supposed to do that. Are you sure she didn't fiddle with the wires or accidentally drop them down the stairs?" He asks in an irritable tone as if it were Weiss' fault for the improper work of his little machines.

"Yes, I'm sure," Weiss answers coldly.

Annoyance radiates from the Pringles man as he angrily eyes Weiss.

He turns on his heels and asks to speak with Dice. Mother says he isn't here and won't be home until next week. Watts hides his disappointment by commanding Papa Schnee to tell him where the braces are.

"My dear boy there is no need to be so hostile," Nicholas says calmly. "Julius, will you please fetch Mister Watts his gadgets."

"Yes, sir, Mrs. Schnee. I will right away." Julius walks away quickly.

We are left standing here, awkwardly waiting for Julius to get back with mustaches prized gadget. He stands aside to look at all the pictures in the hall. I grip the handles on Weiss' wheelchair, angered that he treated Weiss and I like we were inferior to him.

"Have you two eaten breakfast?" Klein asks in a hushed tone. Both of us shake our heads. The servant clasps his hands together, smiling happily. "Wonderful. Follow me." He waves us to come with him.

I push Weiss and we follow him to a small room. Inside is a table filled with breakfast items of so many different kinds. My stomach groans, begging me to just dive right in, but I hold myself together.

"This is for you two." Klein gestures towards the table full of food. "Knowing that your lessons will be rough today, Miss Schnee. I took it upon myself to make a big breakfast."

Weiss smiles thoughtfully. "Thank you, Klein."

Klein bows and leaves us alone.

I take Weiss to the opposite side of the table, pick up her plate and begin to dish her some food. Weiss stops me though and takes the plate from my hands. "I can do it myself, Yang. You go get your own food."

A smirk crosses my lips. "Okay, okay. I'll leave you alone."

We serve ourselves food and sit side by side. The only sounds filling the silence are the clicking forks and satisfied stomachs. It's been some time since I've had a nice and quiet meal with my girlfriend. So I'm going to enjoy it until we have to go back and talk to that jack-ass, Arthur Watts.

"I have a feeling today is going to be hard," Weiss mutters.

I raise a brow. "Why do you say that?"

"Because whenever Watts comes over, he becomes a big pain in my butt." She grumbles poking and jabbing at her eggs.

"Yeah, he's already a pain my ass," I say while taking a bite of pancake.

"Will you come to therapy with me?" Weiss asks. "I'm sure I would enjoy it much more if you came along and encouraged me."

"Yeah, I'll come along. I got nothing else to do while waiting for you." I reply.

She smiles thankfully and in a relieving way. "Thank you."

We eat quietly for the next couple of minutes. What Weiss sounded like worries me. She doesn't seem too happy to go to therapy for some reason. It better not be because she has a pervy therapist or some creep along those lines. Even if she feels uncomfortable with this person then we'll have a little chat about it.

"Who's your therapist?" I ask.

Weiss shrugs. "You wouldn't know them."

"So? You can still tell me." I say.

She sighs heavily. "Some weirdo named Jace Maverick. The guy is a creep."

"Want me to knock his lights out?" I say all too seriously.

Weiss shakes her head. "No. He's not a bad person. He's just…. He makes me feel uncomfortable about myself, about my body."

"Yep. He definitely sounds like a creep." I sigh, relaxing in my seat. "Just know whatever feelings you get from his looks or his body language, please tell me. I don't you to deal with this alone okay?"

"Okay."

"And so you know, for the fifty millionth time, you are as beautiful as a winter morning in the forest."

The comment makes Weiss blush lightly. "Thank you."

We finish breakfast and go back out to the main foyer. The people have cleared out except for Klein who holds a bag of things for Weiss. They must be for therapy. I take the bag from him and hang it on the wheelchair.

"A car is waiting out in the front to take you to therapy, Miss Schnee." Klein smiles softly. "Good luck and please try to have fun."

Weiss sighs. "Okay. Thank you for breakfast Klein. Yang and I appreciate it very much."

"Yeah, the food was super good!" I add in not wanting Weiss to do all the crediting herself. "I would totally have those pancakes every morning for the rest of my life."

Klein bows. "Thank you two for the sweet compliments. Now you best be off. There is no need to leave the driver waiting."

We thank him one last time before heading down to the car.

* * *

 **Another short chapter, I know, but hope you guys enjoyed it and leave some criticism. Like, comment, subscribe and I'll see you guys next time. BYE!**


	41. Chapter 41

**Haaaa! Happy Tuesday or... whatever day you're reading this. This chapter is nice in my opinion, but I know left some unanswered stuff out and I promise I'll get to all that in the next chapter don't you guys worry. Anyway enjoy the chapter and I'll see y'all later**

* * *

Weiss' PoV

The drive is quiet. I always hated this drive. It's like a wake of shame for me. Driving down the bustling city makes me nervous and scared. Yang sees this and grabs my hand. I jump scared of the touch.

"Hey, you okay?" She asks with this concern in her eyes. "What's wrong?

I shake my head. "N-nothing. I'm just tired."

"Tired? Did I really take that much out of you?" Yang asks jokingly.

I shake my head and roll my eyes, turning my attention back to the window. "No. It's the drive. I still get antsy whenever I go on a drive. Whenever I get a car or… or go out into the city I become paranoid. I always think someone or something is out to get me."

Yang scoots closer, wrapping her arm around me. "It's okay. People deal with stuff like this every day and I know I say it a lot, but I'm here for you, Weiss. No matter what the problem is."

"Yeah," I mutter, turning my attention back to the blonde. "You do tend to say that a lot."

"It's the truth."

I giggle. "You're not wrong there either." The blonde smiled brightly. "Thank you, Yang. Thank you for being… thank you for being you, I suppose. I don't know what I'd do without you here with me."

"Eh, no problem, my lovely white rose." Yang plants a kiss on my temple. "I'm glad to bring you joy in your life."

"Not just joy," I add quickly knowing that Yang won't give herself much credit. "You bring so much more than joy. You give me comfort, happiness, laughter, love, affection and more."

"Oh, stop," Yang waves her hand. "You'll make me blush."

"It's true though," I exclaim. "I have no idea where I would be without you."

"Do you want me to answer that?" She asks playfully.

"No. I would rather you not answer that. We don't need to think about the different paths that we would have taken without each other. We only need to think about the one path that we've have chosen together." I say.

Yang raises a brow. "Damn, Schnee has some words of wisdom in that head of hers." She taps my forehead playfully.

"Well of course I do," I say, puffing out my chest. "How else do you think I was top of my class for the last several years of my life?" I say as if it were common knowledge.

"I never thought of that, to begin with," Yang states. "But now that you mention it. It sounds like to me you were a huge nerd back then."

"I'll take that as a compliment," I reply.

The talk between the two of us has lifted my spirits. I feel much more happy than when we left. Fear has slipped away and I was unaware of the absence of it. It crazy how one person can change so much in such a short amount of time.

A few minutes later we arrive at the therapy center. A blue and white building with colorful flowers in the front to give a warm welcome, but I know all too well that those flowers hide the pain behind those doors.

The car slowly stops and Yang hops out, fetching my wheelchair then coming to get me from the car. The driver speeds off after Yang and I are on the curb, making our way into the building. Several people wave and say hello to me as we walk in and take our seats close to the desk. Yang signs me in and we wait patiently for someone to come and get us. It doesn't take long for a man in green scrubs to comes to get us. He takes us somewhere more secluded from the other patients.

He opens a door to a room with equipment laying around, asking to be used. As soon as we walk in the door closes behind us and we are left alone. Something about the room seemed off. It's giving me this funny feeling.

"You two look like you've seen better days." A gruff voice grumbles. I can feel the heat radiating from Yang already. "But who am I to judge." Stepping out of the shadows is Qrow, wearing his normal dark and grey clothes, purplish-black bags sit under his eyes. I swear at any moment he could fall over due to exhaustion.

"What do you want?" Yang snaps, something I haven't heard in a long time. "And why are you here?"

Qrow pulls something from his jacket, a silver canister. A flask which really grinds Yang gears. "It's water." He clarifies before taking a huge gulp. Qrow gasps and tucks the flask back in his jacket. "And I'm here to inform you two that Dice ain't on a business trip."

"Then… where is he?" I ask.

"He is in Vacuo." Another voice answers. That one I can recognize from a mile away. Winter. "He's planning to use you as a bargaining chip."

"We already knew that," Yang says in an irritated tone. Winter lets the comment slip by.

After nearly five months of silence from these two, they finally decided to show themselves. After going through so much on my own, Winter and Qrow have chosen to just show up now. What about when I was alone? What about when I was struggling? What about when I needed my sister at the most vulnerable time of my life? She still simply chooses to show up on her own time for her own benefits.

She looks much better than Qrow when coming into view. "Weiss."

My name on her tongue makes my blood boil. "That's it. That's all you have to say. Weiss?" I growl. "Not a single call. You didn't even show up at the hospital to see if I was alive or not!"

"That wouldn't be her fault." A new voice calls. Heels click and clatter against the tile floor as a new person appears. The pale skin, red eyes, and black raven like hair cause my eyes to widen in shock and surprise. "That would be mine."

Raven.

"Yeah… then there's that." Qrow grumbles, jamming a thumb at Raven.

"You thought of this as a good idea," Raven growls at her brother. "I on the other hand though she needed a little more time."

"We didn't have time to wait and we don't have time to argue." Winter cuts in.

This… this is impossible. How? W-why? What are they doing with her?

"Mom?" Yang shutters.

The tension in the air increased by a simple word. I feel the air thicken due to the rush of emotions Yang is experiencing. She must be just as, if not more, confused than me. It wouldn't be hard to think that. Yang has never seen her mother in real life. I notice many traits and looks that Yang has gotten from her mother and it makes me feel sick on the inside.

The raven-haired woman sighs deeply. "Yang."

An insufferable and long pregnant silence fills the room and our lungs. _I thought it was over._ I thought solemnly. _I thought I wouldn't have to deal with anything anymore. I thought we could be left alone and be happy once again._ Oh, how wrong I was.

"I'm sorry that our first meeting has to be like this," Raven says. "I wish it were different, but we are running out of time."

Yang didn't say anything.

Since Yang has no voice at the moment I'll ask the question that is on both of our minds. "You keep saying we are running out of time. What does that mean? What is going on?" I haven't realized how much of a panic I am in until I spoke up, my voice cracking and squeaking like a child.

The three adults eye each other before Qrow speaks up. "We're going to needs some chairs and a drink for this talk."

After moving to a more secluded room and getting a drink for Qrow, we all sat down and are prepared to hear what Qrow has to say. Or, at least I am. Yang keeps eyeing her mother as she was going to disappear again. I don't blame Yang for not being sure about her mother. I afraid of dealing with the outcome if Raven ups and leaves Yang's life again. We've already been through so much and we don't need to add that on top of everything else.

Qrow flicks his water glass, watching the water ripple in the cup as he waits for someone other than him to talk about the situation at hand. The constant clicking starts to play with my nerves, but I don't show it.

Surprisingly, Yang is the one who speaks up first. "So what's happening?"

Qrow sits up in his chair. "Well for starters-"

"No, not you." Yang puts a hand up stopping Qrow. She then points a finger at Raven. "You."

Raven sighs again as if she wishes she weren't the one to talk about this. "Dice is having an affair with Cinder fall. And since his last plan to get rid of Weiss failed because of someone's interference, he's fairly angry with all the people in this room. He has talked with other gangs and mob bosses, in which he has paid, to get us all assassinated. Which leaves Dice with what he wants."

"The Schnee electric company." Winter finishes.

That's a lot to process, but Yang doesn't seem to buy any of it. "Are these speculation or do you people have real evidence, because the last time I had one of these talks none of it played like it should have."

"Raven has been in deals with Cinder and is acting as a spy for us," Winter claims. "She knows Dice is having an affair."

"Okay, but that doesn't prove anything else," Yang grumbles.

"Look," Raven says, sitting up straight. "All we know so far is that Dice wants us all dead. We know he wants the Schnee dust company to himself and is willing to do whatever it takes to do that."

"But how?" I ask. "He's married to my Mother and she the one who runs the company." I was sure I would have them stumped there, but Raven has an answer for that as well.

"Not unless some tragic accident happens to her daughter which ends up killing her and sending that woman into a downward spiral." Raven declares angrily. "He'll offer her a drink and she'll drink herself to death, living the rest of her life in a haze."

"These are all speculation though," Yang repeats. "You still can't prove that."

"No. But I'm sure something along those lines will happen." Raven remarks. "And it's better to prepare for anything that may come our way."

"By guessing," Yang growls.

"What else would you have us do? Sit on our asses all day and do nothing?" Rave snaps back.

Yang's lips purse into a thin line. She would much rather talk about anything else with her mother than playing a guessing game. A guessing game that could cost lives in the end. The blonde sits back in her chair, crossing her arms, huffing angrily.

"We've been monitoring Dice for a long time," Winter explains. "And after figuring out that he planned to get rid of Weiss, we started to connect some dots together."

"And how did you guys figure that out?" I question.

The three eye each other for a moment. "It wasn't easy, but I managed to slip some drugs into his drink. Truth serum if you ask. The guy popped like a firecracker. Spewing out information like a waterfall."

"Like what kind of information?" Yang asks. The look on her face tells me that she's not happy about getting anywhere in this discussion.

"Small details about a plot to claim the S.E.C. to himself," Raven replies. "Which is why we have all these speculations as to how he's going to do that. All of them have one thing in common though."

"What is that," I ask, afraid that I may already know the answer.

"All of them involve getting rid of the next person in line to inherit the company," Winter says with a frustrated sigh. "You are next in line."

 _No. that can't be right. I rescind the roll just like Winter did which means the roll falls to William, but he…._ "No. Mother can't force the companies inheritance on me. I already resigned from being next in line."

"Yes," Winter agrees with ease, but I know she's hiding something else. "But seeing that she has no other option. The duty falls onto you until she can find someone she knows and trusts well enough to hand the company over to them."

"She can't force that on me though," I say like a whiny child. My face becomes red hot with embarrassment when everyone looks at me a bit surprised. "Sorry."

A short silence falls over our little group. The sound filling the gaps is Qrows loud gulping.

"I understand that you two are shocked and overwhelmed with everything, Maybe even scared, but we are telling you two this because we need your help," Winter says.

Yang and I give each other a quick side glance. "Why do you guys our help?" Yang asks.

"We plan to get Dice to confess, but we all know he won't talk to any us except for Weiss," Qrow states with a strong sigh, rubbing his temple in pain.

"Why can't you arrest him now? You said he confessed to attacking Weiss earlier." Yang pipes up.

"Yes, he did," Raven replied. "But it's my word against his. You see the problem."

Yang slumps back in her chair, thinking again. I know she's trying her hardest to figure out a way to me from confronting Dice on my own. I can also tell how angered she is for having me do this on my own.

"Well… why don't you slip him more truth serum again? Wouldn't that work?" I ask, having little hope in what the answer may be.

"We would," Qrow grumbles. "If we had any more."

The room goes silent again.

There is so much for me to process. It makes my brain hurt just to try and sew everything together for it all to make sense. The information is like a maze. Every time I start to figure out how to get out, questions blocking the exits and I'm left trapped in my own swirling mess of thoughts.

 _I thought he was a good man. I thought we would finally have a happy family. I thought I was done with all the pain and suffering._ _I thought I could finally have a normal life for once._ I didn't stop the tears rolling down my cheeks until Yang had brought me a tissue.

"Thanks," I mutter taking the tissue and wiping the tears away.

"We know it's a lot to ask from you two especially after everything that has happened," Qrow says with sympathy. "But we are going to need you guys to help us put this man away."

Yang eyes Qrow angrily, but she keeps the snarky comments and petty thoughts to herself.

"So what's the plan then?" Yang asks coldly. "If you guys really want to bring this guy in then you have to a good enough to do so."

I feel a twinge of pain in my chest when hearing Yang talk about Dice like a criminal now. A man who had a son and daughters who loved him. A man that did so many good things for this family and the company. He has a good life. But with so much wealth came so much power. Dice became greedy and hid his sins in the shadows of the Schnee manor. We were all too blind to see through him. And we are all paying for it. Some more than others.

"We haven't come up with a plan," Winter admits. "Not one that won't leave someone wounded or dead at least."

In the blur of everything, I realize something. Someone important is missing. "What about Ironwood? He could help."

Raven scoffs. "That man is blinder than he thinks."

A flare of anger shoots through my veins. "What's that supposed to mean?" I flatten my tone, keeping it from showing any anger or annoyance towards Raven.

But why would I defend a man who is trying to kill me and ruin my family for his own personal gain? Maybe it's because he's been a good father figure for me for such a long time that I've developed feelings him as to being a part of the family.

Whatever the reason. I hated it with a passion now.

"We hoped to come up with a plan before Dice gets back, but we only have a week left to do so," Qrow says. "But, we haven't had any luck with that."

"How long have you had this information?" Yang grumbles. "You guys must have thought of something by now, right?"

"We just got this information last night, Yang," Raven states coldly. "And trying to come up with a good clean cut plan in the middle of the night doesn't usually end well."

"Especially when one of them is drunker than a pirate," Winter adds, eyeing Qrow.

"What?" Yang growls, now standing on her feet.

Qrow grumbles under his breath. "Oh boy. Yang, look, I am in a rough spot."

"You promised!" The blonde hissed. "You promised me, you Ruby as well. You promised that you would get help. But, just like everything else, it was a lie!"

Qrow is silent. A twinkle of pain in his eyes, anyone can see it. Even a blind man. Yang stomps out of the room, not giving Qrow the slightest chance to defend himself. She slams the door when she exits, shaking the few picture frames on the walls.

Qrow groans. "Congrats, Winter. Now we got an angry teen on our hands."

"I was simply stating the obvious, Qrow," Winter replied flatly. "And if you kept your promise like you said you would then she wouldn't be upset."

"If you didn't say a damn word then none of this would have happened!" Qrow shot up.

"Don't you dare blame this on me!" Winter shouts, defending herself.

I feel out of place and shrink in my chair as the two get louder and louder. Then a hand rests on my shoulder. It's not warm like Yang's hand. It's cool to the touch. Raven nods her head towards the door. I understand what she's getting at and wheel myself around and we exit the room.

"I always told Qrow to never bring his dates along with him," Raven says as a joke, but I don't laugh.

I'm tenser than normal around Raven than anyone I know. The woman is simply overwhelming for me. She's basically a criminal, a gang boss, and my girlfriend's mother. Out of all three of those, the last one scares me the most. Now is the time for me to make a good impression of myself, but how do I do that?

"I've been keeping an eye on you and Yang for a long time," Raven says. "And, to be honest, I've been trying to get her away from you for safety reasons. You seem like a nice girl for Yang, but with everything going right now I would much rather have one life in danger than two. No offense."

"I understand… I guess. A mother needs to watch out for her daughter, right?" I try to keep my voice as normal as possible, but with every word that falls out of my mouth, it goes higher and higher in pitch.

Raven and I walk down the halls in silence, looking for any signs of Yang passing through. Nothing gives us any hints or clues as to where she went. No one we ask has seen her which has me a little concerned.

"Where did that girl go?" I mutter.

"No worries," Raven speaks up. I'm surprised she could hear me for how quiet I was. "We'll find the hot head. She couldn't have gone too far."

"Yeah…, erm yes. I suppose." I sputter.

It seems to me Raven knows more about Yang than she cares to let on. She is Yang's mother after all and I'm sure she has many ways of keeping an eye on her daughter throughout the years. I wouldn't be surprised if she sent one of her well-trusted gang members to keep any on a little Yang while she was out on her own, playing in the streets or walking home from school with her sister. It also wouldn't surprise me if she has had a few run-ins with these people and tried to make friends with them. That sounds like something Yang would do.

"Over there." Raven points outs towards a glass door. Yang had made her way outside to the small outdoor area that the building owned. She sat on a bench, head down in disappointment and anger, her hands in her lap.

Raven pushes open the door, forgetting me for a split second and letting the door swing closed, leaving me behind. I huff and tap on the glass trying to get her attention, but she holds up a hand telling me to stop. It annoys me.

The woman takes a seat next to Yang rests a hand on her shoulder. Yang says nothing. She doesn't even acknowledge the black haired woman by her side. She's too upset to care.

I can hear Raven begin to talk, hoping it would get Yang to talk as well. But it doesn't work. Raven sighs as she waits for Yang to reply. She pushes past all the friendly stuff and goes straight to the source which she gets a nasty glare from Yang who takes a peek over to me. I can see the fire in her eyes and shrink into my chair, waving unknowing of what Raven has told her. Her eyes soften up.

Yang finally speaks, but I can't hear a word she says. She sounds angered and disappointed. I feel as though I'm intruding in on their mother-daughter moment. Though they don't seem to care as much as I do.

"Do you need help Miss?" A man in scrubs asks.

"Um…" _should I go outside? Will they feel like I'm intruding? They don't seem to care that I'm here now, so why would they care if I'm out there._

"Are you alright, Miss?" The man asks with little concern.

"Huh…. oh, yes. I'm fine. I have a lot on my mind right now." I say.

"Would you like to clear your head?"

I know the man is trying to be polite and all, but he's being too nice which is getting on my nerves. "No thank you. I'm fine right where I am." I reply in the politest way possible.

The man nods and walks away. I go back to watching the family drama happening outside.

What surprises me is how well Yang is taking everything, seeing Raven and so on. I thought she would blow a fuse or yell or something temperamental. But she holds her emotions by the throat, keeping them down for the moment.

I watch in near perfect silence. Every now and then I can hear one or the other over expressing themselves. I've also noticed how relaxed Yang has become around Raven. Another thing that has surprised me. How can she be so relaxed and calm around her? What is she saying to make Yang act like nothing is a big deal? Maybe she's not really connected with her feelings and doesn't know how to react.

Yang then shoots up, her voice rising, pointing a finger at Raven who isn't fazed by the action. The woman keeps a calm demeanor, brushing Yang's finger aside and stands herself, arms crossed. Yang shouts something that nearly breaks Raven's calm look, but she pulls it back together.

The woman has nothing to say and Yang stomps away.

Calm one second then angry the next. What did she say to make Yang snap?

"Why does everything have to fall apart so quickly?" I sigh in defeat.

* * *

 **I don't have much to say except that the norm. Hope you guys enjoy the chapter. Leave some criticism, cause gods know I need it. Like, comment, subscribe and I'll see y'all next time! BYE!**


	42. Chapter 42

**Hey! So this may be a bit of a mess and I may have left a few gaps and questions that you guys may want answers to. Sorry if I didn't get everything into this chapter. Anyway, enjoy the chapter and I'll see you guys later.**

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Thirty minutes past since Yang ran off again. I had finally gotten myself out the door and Raven is still sitting on the bench, mulling over something on her mind. I wanted to stop and ask if there was anything I can do to help, but she waves off to go find out where Yang went. Hopefully not back inside, I was barely able to get outside.

I wheel myself around the small area for a few minutes before considering going back inside to look for her there. The thought though makes me groan out of annoyance. Never again. I'm not going in unless someone offers me help.

I round the corner, finding nothing. "Gods, Yang. Where did you go?"

"I'm right here."

My heart leaps into my throat and I turn around to see the blonde standing over me. She looks at me with a dull expression. Something I've never seen or experienced until now and it's bothering me to a certain extent. I swat her arm, scolding her for scaring me like that. I had also hoped she would chuckle or giggle or at least smile about the action, tease me maybe, but Yang simply stares at me as if I were another human being. Something isn't right with her and it's worrying me now.

"Yang?" I ask softly, slipping my hand into hers. "What's wrong? You can talk to me you know that right?"

Yang pulls her hand away, tucking it behind her back. "Everything is wrong, Weiss. Everything is so, so wrong."

I know what she means and I agree, but we have to deal with this whether we like it or not. We need to be there for each other through thick and thin, and we always have been, but this may be a real strain on our relationship. With so much going on with our families, we may need to take time away from being with each other just to fix what is broken.

"It'll be okay." Is all I can say, though it could be a lie in the future. A future I hope will never come true.

We walk around the small area of walkway. Yang wants nothing to do with our current situation and I know that for a fact, but we need to talk about this at some point. If we want Dice out of our lives than we should do something to get rid of him before he gets rid of us. Permanently. I respect Yang a lot, but she shouldn't sulking like this.

"We should talk," I say finally, halting us in front of a water fountain.

Yang sighs deeply. "What is there to talk about." She mutters.

"Everything." I huff, crossing my arms. "I know you're not okay with the plan and all, but maybe we could at least try to sort out a better way to throw Dice away without me having to stand up to him on my own."

Yang shakes her head as if I didn't know something. "It's not that."

I raise a brow, questioning what she has to say. "What do you mean? I know you don't like the fact of me being there with…"

"Yeah, I'm upset about that, but…. there's something else you need to know before we leave." Yang turns her gaze away in shame, rest a hand on the back of her neck.

"Okay," I'm nervous as to what she has to say. "What do you have to say?"

Another deep sigh and she turns her gaze back to me. "Raven sent someone out to stop your car from heading to its original destination, not the hotel."

I'm not too surprised about this. Dice did say one of Raven's gang members were killed due to the crash. He used it as a reason to get rid of Yang or at least try to persuade me from seeing her again.

"And….?"

"And I don't know how I feel about it," Yang grumbles. "I mean…. She got two people killed and injured several others and not to mention that you could be stuck in a wheelchair for the rest of your life for it. And I should be mad, but…. I don't know how to feel, seeing that she was only trying to help. I'm sure she didn't plan to kill anyone, but she shouldn't have done what she did."

"Is that why you yelled at her earlier?" I ask.

Yang nods. "Yeah."

"And now you have mixed emotions about the situation," I add.

"Yeah."

"Did she tell you about what would have happened to us if the driver took us to the cars trust destination?"

Yang sighs, nodding, and taking a seat on a bench. I wheel over next to her. There isn't much I can do to truly comfort the blonde. I wish I could do more to help than sit here and talk about our feelings. I wish I could pull her into a hug and stroke her hair and tell her that everything will be okay, but I would be lying to her if I said it would.

"I don't know what to do," Yang mutters. "She's my mom and I know she's done some bad things in the past, but she's my mom and…. Gods, everything is so messed up."

Yang puts her hands to her face to hide the despairing look on it. She's confused and conflicted on the inside. One side saying she should be mad and outraged by the fact that her mom did this to us. And the other side saying, she didn't know people were going to die, she didn't know I would be put in a wheelchair.

I should be mad at Raven as well. I should be calling the police and telling them that a gang boss is here, but I'm not. Raven stepped in and stopped Dice from doing something terrible to all of us. She saved us, but it was at a cost. A cost she didn't foresee.

"It's not her fault, Yang," I say out of the blue. "I know you want to blame her for what happened to me, to Penny and Jaune. But she didn't do this. Raven stopped something worse than the both of us could imagine and I'm glad for that. Could she have done it differently, most likely, but I know for a fact she did the right thing."

Yang takes her hands away from her face for a moment, eyeing me curiously as if I had something foreign to her. I can see the gears in her head quickly piece everything together. "You're taking this oddly well?"

I bite my lip. I am taking this oddly well. There should another sort of emotion inside boiling to the surface. I have every right to angry at Raven, but I choose not to because she is a key part in getting rid of Dice for good. If one of them has to get out of life my life, it's that backstabbing man who dates a bitch over my mother. Hurting me is one thing and hurting my mother is another… Yang is becoming too big of an influence on me.

"Dice told me one of Raven's gang member crashed into the limo. He was pretty angry when he said it to." I say. "He's mad that his plan didn't work."

Yang isn't surprised that Dice knows about what happened. It's either he still cared about me at the time or he didn't care about the information slipping.

"Do you think he'll go public with that information or will it matter?"

I shrug. "I don't think it will matter, most people know by now. But I don't think the Atlas police will go looking for your mom."

"But if Dice knows that Raven sent someone out to stop the car, then he could accuse her of murder or attempted murder," Yang states. The confidence in her tone has dissipated completely.

I think for a short moment. "If Dice decides to do that than he would have to let them know where the limo was heading. He would most likely tell a lie to save his own skin. That wouldn't stop the police from digging into his story though. I'm sure he would play it safe instead of being reckless."

"Still," Yang mutters. "He could accuse her and stop this whole thing in a split second. It's like Raven said. It's his word versus hers."

I shake my head. "You're overthinking it, Yang. These are all speculations."

Yang eyes me for a second then a soft smile forms on her lips. "Yeah, I guess you're right. I'm overthinking all of this. I'm so on edge, you know, with everything that has happened and is happening. I just… I don't want to lose anyone else."

"I know I'm right," I say taking her hand again, this time she doesn't pull away. "So don't put so much on yourself. Everything is not for you to figure out on your own. That's why we are talking about it as a group."

Yang nods, speaking in a shaky breath. "Yeah, okay. It's…. All of it is so hard to swallow, you know."

"I know it's a lot, but we can get through this together," I say with confidence, squeezing Yang's hand softly.

We sit for a moment, letting time tick by so we can gather our thoughts before heading back in to figure out a way to get rid of Dice. Though when I mentioned going back inside, Yang looked less than happy to face her uncle again. I'm sure she would fight tooth and nail if it were not me talking to her. She isn't too thrilled to argue with me either.

"Okay…." She doesn't put up a fight. "Just give me another minute to collect myself."

I pull my hand away, telling Yang that I'll be inside waiting for Her. She nods in understanding, saying she'll be there shortly. I make my way back over to the glass doors. Raven is waiting on the other side. I'm sure she expected me to give her a nasty look or be angry like Yang, but I simply wave and asked to be let in.

She obliged and opens the door for me.

"Thank you," I say, wheeling myself in.

"Your… welcome."

I wheel myself all the way back down to the room where we left Qrow and Winter. The two had finally calmed down after the ordeal, but neither looking too pleased with how the argument ended. _At least neither of them bit each other's heads off in the last thirty or so minutes that we have been gone._

Raven steps back into the room, shutting the door behind her. Now it feels like I'm being held hostage or interrogated with all of the adults eyeing me.

"Is the little firecracker done being angry?" Qrow grumbles. At this point, I think he still has a hangover from last night.

My eye twitches irritably. "Are you ready to be part of your niece's life or will you still be sitting on your ass, drinking your life away?"

Raven smirks. "I like her." She says in an approving tone.

Qrow growls and grumbles under his breath for my rude comment. Winter clears her throat and leans against the table, directing our attention away from Qrow. "What Qrow is trying to say is when will Yang be joining us again."

"She needs some time to clear her head," I say. "I understand that we can't waste any more of what little time we have left so we'll continue without Yang until she comes back."

"Okay," Qrow sits up. "What ideas do we have to put Mr. cheater behind bars?"

The room in silence for a moment, everyone thinking of a way to get Dice to talk.

"Maybe we should let him take her," Raven says in a flat tone.

We all turn to Raven in shock. None of us could believe what she had said. Why on earth would she want to hand me over to Dice that easily?

"As bait," Raven adds after seeing all the shocked faces.

The room is relieved to hear her say that. Winter seems to understand what Raven is getting. Qrow may understand as well but doesn't acknowledge it.

"You plan to lure Dice out by using Weiss as bait."

"In a way. I'm saying we should hand her over to Dice and see what would happen. " Raven says more clear this time.

It's not a bad plan, but it sure isn't the best plan we have. Of course, we haven't thought of anything else either. I suppose we can see how far we can get with this plan before we find some holes in it.

"Do you not think that is dangerous?" Winter adds. "There is no telling what Dice would now do after his last failed attempt to get rid of her."

Raven crosses her arms, rolling her eyes. "It's just an idea, ice queen. Though I would much prefer catching him in the act than relying on a little-wired box that is attached to little miss hot wheels over here." The woman jams a thump at me.

I brush off Raven's comment, not knowing if it was an insult or compliment will forever be a mystery and speak up. "I think a confection will be much easier than getting wrapped in whatever Dice has planned for me. Though we would have more dirt on him it's still too dangerous to risk my life and whoever else is getting involved in this. It can go the opposite way with the slip of a word or action."

"Anything can go wrong in any of the plans we think of. None of them will be clean cut and perfect." Raven states. "Someone will get hurt in the end and someone may even lose their life doing the right thing. We just have to make sure their sacrifice is not wasted."

"Maybe you're jumping the gun here, sis," Qrow speaks. "We don't know if someone is going to die. Hell, everyone could come out fine after this."

Raven shakes her head as if she couldn't disagree more. "That's what I thought when I sent Vil out to stop the car that was taking Weiss and her friends to the airport. Sadly, I was wrong and it cost Vil his life."

Qrow's expression turns sour. "It's your fault for interfering and now you'll live with those consequences, Raven."

Raven's eyes narrow in on Qrow. I'm sure if she glared any harder, he could feel the dagger-like stare on his skin. "And what were you doing to stop Dice, Qrow. Oh, that's right. You were busy getting wasted in a bar in downtown Vale."

"At least I didn't turn my back on Family." Qrow snaps.

"You are," Raven retorts. "With you lying around wasting your life on beer and whiskey. You're hurting this family more than I ever could."

"That's enough!" Winter jumps in. "There is no time to argue about the past mistakes you two have made."

A thick blanketed of silence rests in the room like a fog in the morning and after a rainy night. No one is too keen on talking to each other now. There is too much going on between Raven and Qrow to even get a sentence without one arguing with the other.

"You know what?" Raven speaks up, breaking the silence. "You're right this was a terrible idea." The black haired woman spins on her heel and exits the room, leaving the three of us silent.

"That went well," Qrow says in a sarcastic tone, rubbing his temple.

Winter gets up from the table and walks out of the room as well, before leaving, she turns to him. "How are you going to fix this mess now, Qrow?"

Then she left. Qrow and I are the only two in the room.

"Are you going to leave too?" He asks.

He looked like he wanted to be alone to think, but then again, I'm the best at reading people like Qrow. He isn't like Ruby and Yang where they wear their emotions on their faces. Qrow is more hidden with his facial expressions and doesn't care to show emotion. I decide it's best that I leave now that I have the chance.

"Would you so kindly open the door?" I say, rubbing salt on his invisible wound.

The poor man sighs, gets up from his chair and opens the door. "There you go kiddo."

I nod to him is a vote of thanks and roll out of the room. Qrow quietly shuts the door and I am left alone in the hallway.

Yang came back a few minutes later. She said Winter stopped by and told her what happened while she was gone. Yang looked heartbroken to hear that her mom left without saying goodbye to her for the second time. I told her that we got next to nothing done and the group disbanded before we were able to come up with an effective plan that will solve our problem.

Yang sighs and rubs her temple. "Today has been… one hell of a mess hasn't it."

"Yes," I agree. "Yes, it has."

"Should we go home? It is almost lunchtime."

As much as Yang wanted to leave this place, I can't go home until I do at least a few exercises before we leave. I can't keep putting off physical therapy for no reason. I shake my head. "No, I still haven't done any physical therapy."

Yang sighed again. "I don't know, Weiss. I kind of… don't want to be here any longer than we should."

"Oh, Yang. I understand that you don't want to be here anymore now with everything that has happened, but do you think you could push past that and stay a little longer?" I asked pleadingly, taking her hand in mine. "I need to get better."

Yang looks at me blankly for a moment. "Okay, okay. We'll stay a bit longer."

"Thank you."

Yang and I head back to the room full of equipment. This time though, no one was hiding in the dark. Yang flicks on the light and chases the dark away.

"What would you like to do first?" Yang asks.

I point at the two parallel bars across the room. "Take me to there."

"As you wish my lady."

She pushes me over to the bars and stops me in front of the start. "Okay, now try to make your way over to me." Yang makes her way to the end of the bars.

It may be a few feet for her, but it looks like miles to me. I swallow hard, grip the rubber, and pull myself up. My arms begin to wobble and feel like they are about to break under the pressure already. It's been some time since I've done this and I wish I could blame my weakness on the struggle, but I know it's something else. Ever since Yang showed up I didn't have a reason to get better. I didn't put my heart and soul into standing on my own two feet again. I didn't have something at the end of the road waiting for me, but Yang is my end destination and I'm willing to do anything for her.

"Try and take a few steps," Yang calls down to me. "And if you need help, tell me."

"Okay." I stutter, doing my best to take a step forward. It's slow and shaky, but I'm able to keep myself up right. "Next…. step."

My feet slowly drag across the floor. I start to break a sweat halfway through the walk or at least thought I was halfway through. My arms burn and ache, holding me up right. All my muscles burn, begging me to stop, but I can't. I need to get better. Not just for my sake, but for Yang's sake as well. Before I know it, I bump into something soft and that was the breaking point. My arm give out and I nearly fall to the floor, but Yang is there to catch me.

She holds my tired body against her strong well-toned one, _I wish I could be strong,_ whispering words of encouragement in my ear. "Good job, princess. You made it halfway through the bars."

 _Only halfway through? I thought I did better than that. I suppose when you're so distracted by everything you don't get much done._

"Okay, up we go." Yang scoops me up and takes me back to the chair.

"N… no." I sputter. "Set me down on the floor, I still have a few more exercises to do."

Yang halts, spins on her heel, and takes me to an open spot on the floor. She gently puts me down. The cool floor feels nice against my hot sweaty skin. Yang takes a seat next to me, her legs stretching out far in front of her.

"So what do you do know?" She asks.

"I stretch a little before moving on," I say reaching out to my toes. Though I may be flexible, I don't feel like giving my hundred percent in stretches. "I'm supposed to stretch before I start working on my physical therapy."

Warm hands press against my back pushing me down lower. Even when feeling overheated and sweaty, Yang's hands are somehow warmer than normal. Maybe it's because I'm abnormally cold to the touch all the time or in some way, I haven't gotten used to Yang's touch.

"You know if you're gonna go all the way, then you might as well give it you're all in the few chances life gives. You never know when life will be generous again." Yang speaks as if it were from experience.

I wouldn't be surprised. Life has given her many chances and I'm sure she's taken some of them for granted. Sometimes I wonder how many great opportunities she could have taken if I weren't there, in the back of her mind, stopping her from taking that chance, that one opportunity. An opportunity that could have changed her life for the better.

"Hey, you okay?"

My thoughts fall away as Yang calls to me. I realized she stopped helping me stretch and is staring at me with concern.

"Um…. yeah, yes, I'm fine. I got lost in my thoughts." I reply straightening out my back.

"Mmm. What were you thinking about?" Yang asks. She sits next to me cross-legged with a hand resting on my thigh. "You know you can tell me."

"I know. I just…." I sigh deeply. "Have you ever been given an opportunity that could change your life forever and didn't take it?"

Yang is actually taken back by my question. She's shocked and confused as to why I would ask her that. "Yeah, several chances to do that in fact, but none of them are because of you if that's what you are getting at."

It's a relief to know that, but why do I feel so empty on the inside for some reason? Is it because I will feel guilty no matter what or is that how I simply function these days? Even after saying that it isn't my fault, I'll still think the blame will be on me no matter the issue.

Yang pulls me into her lap, chin on my shoulder and arms around my waist. "I think all the opportunities I've gotten are because of you, Weiss. I don't think anything else of it. You are the best thing that has and will happen to me." Yang says in a warm and caring voice.

Her breath on my ear and neck cause the little hairs on my neck to stand up. A small shiver runs down my spine as the words roll off her tongue. Yang's words loving to me and will now have a place in my heart along with all the other wonderful things she's told me. Even if she repeats some one-liners and speeches over and over again, I can tell she really means it. I feel the emotion and feeling she puts into each and every word she tells me.

"So, your majesty, what would you like to do now?" Yang asks, kissing my neck.

"Sit here in your arms and lose my thoughts." I hum happily leaning into the kiss.

"As you wish."

Yang's mouth opens and begins to suck on the pale skin.

 _That'll leave a mark. I hope no one sees when we leave._

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 **Okay, so... yeah, had to end it on a happier note because of... reasons. What reasons? I don't know yet, but we'll see where this takes us. Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter and leave some criticism because the gods know I need it. Like, comment, subscribe and I'll see y'all next time! BYE!**


	43. Chapter 43

**Oh, my freaking goodness! I'm so tired. Just put on a smile and be happy! Okay, guys new chapter. This story so close to the end, and I've already planned out the ending, but the thing is I can't just skip to the end and be like _Here be happy and don't complain about all the unanswered questions._ So I'm going to do my best to get as many of these questions answered before the story ends. Anyway, enjoy the chapter and I'll see you guys later. **

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We headed home afterward. Yang had indeed left a mark on my neck and I had to wear her jacket to keep it hidden and out of sight. Yang giggled though as I kept the hoodie close to my neck.

"You look good though!" Yang smiles.

Her comment causes me to shrink in my chair and pull on the hoodie tighter. "Maybe to you, but I look like Cotton candy on a stick. This thing is so puffy and it's swallowing me whole."

"I would totally eat a Weiss cotton candy!" Yang giggles.

I sigh. "Why am I not surprised."

"You would taste good." That comment got a glance from one of the stray maids walking by.

"My, my! There's a comment I never thought I would hear in my time here." A gruff voice chuckles. "So what do you mean by that, Miss Xiao-Long?" Grandfather stood at the end of the hall with a warm and playful smile on his face.

"Mister S… Schnee. Uh…. hi, Hello!" Yang stutters, waving awkwardly. "H-how are you?"

"I am well today Miss Xiao-Long. How are you?" He asks smoothly.

"I'm… um…. I am…. good! I'm good!" She stumbles over her words as if she were a drunk woman.

"That's wonderful. Klein has food waiting for you in the dining hall." Grandfather holds a hand towards the dining room.

"Thank you, grandfather," I say wheeling over to the double doors. "Will you be joining us for lunch?"

"No, sadly. Though there is someone waiting for you two."

I stop, with a raised brow, and turn to Yang, wondering if she knows who is waiting for us on the other side. All I get is a shrug though.

"Do not worry, Weiss." Grandfather quickly adds. "It's not Dice if that is who you think it is. He's still away on his business trip."

The breath of air I've been holding in releases as a huge sigh of relief. _Dice hasn't come back. Thank the gods._

Yang pushes open the dining room door, holding it open so I may enter. I thank her and roll in. Nothing looked out of the norm. The food sat on the table freshly made and plates were set along with the silverware and the glasses. No one is here though. Grandfather did say someone would be waiting for us, but the room is empty.

"Soooo, where's the person we're supposed to talk to?" Asks Yang.

I scan the room several times and come up empty each time. "I don't know. They may have wandered off."

Yang walks to one of the set plates and plucks up a fork. She spins it in between her fingers. "Should we take a seat, eat and relax before our afternoon is ruined as well?"

There's a long thoughtful sigh. "Sure."

Yang smiles brightly and pulls a chair away from the table, gesturing me to take the empty spot. I do and she takes the seat next to me. We help ourselves with some food and water, neither of us speaking a word due to our full mouths. I'm sure neither of us wants to talk anyway. We'll most likely be doing tons of that when this mystery person decides to show themselves.

It feels good to sit at the table again like a normal human being instead of being stuck in my room all day. And it's even better now that I have some company from Yang.

Yang clears her plate in a few minutes while I didn't even have a third of my food eaten yet. Too much is on my mind for me to eat let alone relax properly. I can't stop thinking about this morning. There has been too much forced onto Yang and I and now this? We shouldn't be dealing with something this. With gang members, murders, crazy people, and secret organizations? All I want is a normal life with a good job, to finish college and get a degree in Art, to, hopefully, get married one day live out the rest of my natural life with my lover.

"Yo, Weiss." I feel several taps on my temple. "You alive in there?"

"Huh? Oh- yes… yeah. Lost in thought again." I respond. "Just thinking."

"About everything?" She asks. I answer with a nod. "Yeah, I understand. have I been thinking about it too. That why I've been eating _a lot._ It helps clear my head, ya know."

I shake my head. "No," than a smile splits my face. "But do tell." Hopefully striking up a conversation with Yang will help take my mind off things.

"So I've been thinking about what everyone said back at the physical center. Thinking usually makes me hungry which is why I eat snacks during class. I got yelled a lot for during class by Goodwitch, but that's not important. I use up so much brain power that I literally think my food away." Yang explains tapping her temple. "Or I may just have a fast metabolism."

"You may be both a hard thinker and have a quick enough metabolism," I say poking her gut. "Which explains why your gut is as hard as a rock."

"If you want something much softer, you can simply move up a couple inches." Yang giggles.

"Yang!" I yelp, shoving the girl. "Don't say that."

Yang is the least bit concerned though, popping a grape in her mouth. "What? You got a handful last night and even a face full this morning. So I don't see the problem here."

"Someone could walk in on us," I explain. "I would totally not like to explain to them what we are talking about."

"And what exactly are you two talking about?" A woman interjects.

"Winter." I gasp and turn to my elder sister. "We're talking about…. Nothing. We're not talking about anything."

Winter's eyes narrow in on Yang and I. "I beg to differ little sister."

"We really were talking about nothing." Yang cuts in defending me. "It's all dumb stuff."

Winter takes a seat across from the two of us, taking a grape and eating it. She doesn't look too satisfied with Yang's answer and she doesn't look too happy with the thoughts that are in her head due to context clues she's received from our like conversation. The room is silent and I wish it weren't, but with the death stare Winter is giving Yang and I now is much better than getting a lecture from the older woman. It would be embarrassing if Winter scolded me like a child in front of Yang.

"I've come here to discuss plans, but, instead, I stumbled into you two's private life," Winter says with a hint of sharpness in her tone. "I understand that you love my younger sister, Miss Xiao-Long, but I will not let you seduce Weiss into whatever scheme you have planned for her."

"Woah, woah, woah." Yang puts her hands up in defense. "First off, I don't scheme and second off I don't do anything with Weiss that she isn't comfortable with, okay? I love the girl and I would never do anything wrong to her."

Winter still doesn't look satisfied with Yang's answers. I don't understand why she doesn't like Yang. Winter better not have the same reason as Dice does for hating Yang. That would really grind my gears.

"You came here to make a plan with us, not to judge Yang's and my love life," I say taking Winter's mind off of the subject at hand.

Winter sits up straight. "You are right, Weiss. Besides I can always come talk to you in private about what's going between the two of you."

"So," Yang sits back in her seat, arms crossed. "What do you have planned so far?"

Winter is silent for a moment, pooling her thoughts together. "Luring Dice out is the safest way to get a confirmation, but it may not be the best way. There is a lot that will have to be done right in this plan for it to work properly."

"So what are you proposing?" Yang asks.

"I think you should be by Weiss' side when she confronts Dice," Winter explains. "Him seeing you with Weiss will put him off."

Yang cuts in. "As is angry or…"

"He'll be surprised to see you. I'm hoping it would throw off his train of thought." Winter says.

 _How is that the safest plan? Dice broke my phone over me simply calling and talking to Yang one time. There is no telling what would happen if he found out Yang had been with me the whole time I've been gone. I suppose we can only hope for the best._

"And you're just guessing that it'll all work out?" Yang asks with a hint of anger in her tone. Something that Winter does not appreciate.

"It's only an idea, Yang. If you have a better plan than I would love to hear it." WInter says.

"It… could work, but Dice does have a serious temper when it comes to Yang, Winter." I pipe, hoping to defuse an argument before it starts.

"I can testify to that," Yang adds.

"Dice's temper is dangerous, I know," Winter says. "We've had some less than agreeable arguments before I left to join Ironwood after the military. But that is what I'm hoping for. He'll be blinded by rage that he'll do and say something irrational enough to give enough evidence to put him behind bars."

"Or it could put someone in the hospital," Yang grumbles.

I can tell by the look on Yang's face that she does not agree with this plan at all, but it's the only suggestion we have so far and it's the most logical. Safe? I don't know how safe it is when we place a cold-hearted fire head in this. There is no telling what the man may do when he finds out about Yang. That is what worries me the most.

"I don't have much more time." Winter days out of the blue. "If you two can think of something safer tell me. If not, I'll work out all the wrinkles and kinks in the plan we have so far. Stay in touch." The white-haired woman gets up and leaves. The of the door shutting echoes through the dining hall.

A few moments later, I hear Yang angrily tapping on the dining table, thinking about something. Most likely every flaw in the plan. Yang always seems to think that kind of way. Thinking about what could go wrong instead of what could go right.

"There's too much in Winter's plan that could go wrong, but I can't think of anything else right now because I'm so frustrated," Yang growls, drumming her fingers against the table. "I still think there is a better way to get Dice to confess without going through the pain of it all."

I shake my head and sigh. "You're being too unrealistic, Yang. Someone is going to get hurt in the end whether it's physically or emotionally. We just need to figure out and plan for any outcome that could go down the day we make our move."

Yang is silent for a minute or two. I know she doesn't want it to be this way. Heck, I don't want it to be this way either, but it is and we can't just let it slide past us. People's lives are at stake and we need to find a way to stop Dice before something bad happens to all of us.

"Alright. I've decided that I have enough thinking and stressing for today." Yang proclaims. "If you need me I'll be upstairs in your room … if I can find my way up without directions." The blonde grumbles the last bit under her breath. I can still hear it clearly though.

"Okay…. I'll be here… maybe." I say quietly as Yang walks out.

The door opens and closes, leaving me alone. It's kind of nice to sit in silence for a moment. I am able to collect and process my thoughts before someone comes in and interrupts them.

 _What am I going to do? Everything is a jumbled up mess and I can't fix it. I can't do it on my own either, but no one is willing to work together to figure out an effective plan._

I sigh strongly and exit the room, leaving my unfinished plate of food behind.

A hallway with huge glass windows that reached the ceiling, letting in what looked like gallons of sunlight, stretched for a mile almost. Pieces of art and sculpture decorated the opposite side. The hall looked nice and warm with the sunlight pouring through, but when you live in a place that holds some terrible memories, you know the rays are only hiding the pain.

But this house isn't all that bad. I had some good memories that I have kept locked away. Rear memories that I'll cherish until the day I die.

I stop at a window and peak outside to the large yard full of green grass and flowers. A memory flashes in my mind for a brief second. William running around in the grass, chasing a butterfly with a cheerful smile on his face. Mother and I sit on a blanket with a picnic basket full of small sandwiches and snacks. A happier time now that I picture the events in my mind. A time that I took for granted.

"A lot on your mind, Miss Schnee?" The warm familiar voice causes the memory to fade back into the past.

I sigh. "I do, Klein."

Klein comes up next to me with a white cup full of coffee. "I made your favorite. Hopefully it'll destress you." He hands the warm cup to me.

I take it gingerly, sipping on the dark liquid to test it. Bittersweet cinnamon. The way I liked it. "Thank you, Klein."

"Your absolute welcome, Miss Schnee." Klein smiles before tucking the empty silver plater under his arm. "Now tell me. What is going in that head of yours?" The man taps my forehead for emphasis. "I would like to know if I can help in any way."

I would have giggled at the action, but all the happiness in me seemed to be sucked out of my body. "I wish I could talk you about it, Klein, but it may put us both in some serious trouble."

"Trouble?" Klein asks, his mustache twitching. "What kind of trouble?"

I've realized my error too late and may have to pay for it. "Nothing…. I…. well…. Nevermind, Klein. You're free to go." I wave Klein to leave, but the man stands his ground.

"Miss Schnee, I would like to inform you that whatever it is that you are talking about, I am willing to listen and even risk my job for you. Now tell me," The man kneels down next to me. "What is the matter snowbird?"

I shake my head. "I'm sorry, Klein, but it's a private matter. Do not worry though, I can handle it."

"Does this have something to do with Miss Xiao-Long?" Klein asks. "She was pretty steamed up when she was making her way back to your room. I do need to have a talk with her?"

"What!? No, no, no. Yang and I are fine. We're just stressed with everything that has been going on in our lives right now." Technically that is true. Yang and I have been stressed with all the new information and we simply don't know how to handle it anymore. From the looks of it, Yang thought we'd be done with this crazy stuff as well.

Klein sighs, knowing that he's fighting a losing battle. "Alright, Miss Schnee, I will leave you be for the time being. For now, try to take things easy. Maybe you and Miss Xiao-Long can have a night out in the city?"

A night in the city does sound relaxing. Yang and I haven't had a date in a while, now may be a good time to kill two birds with one stone. "I may suggest that idea to Yang, Klein. Thank you for talking with me as well. It's good to know that I can have one normal conversation around here."

Klein chuckles. "Anything for you my ice flower. Have a wonderful rest of your evening."

The butler and I go out separate ways after I finished my cup of coffee that is, leaving the warm hallway to its natural quiet self.

Afterward, I make my way to my room where Yang, hopefully, made it to. She hasn't figured out all the turns and rooms of the manor. It would be funny to watch her wander around the manor aimlessly until she stumbles upon her destination.

The door to my room is cracked open which is a sign that shows that Yang had made it to my room without getting lost in the maze. What I hear on the other side, though, is alarming to me. I can hear soft sobs quietly escaping out into the hall.

I push open the door and see Yang slumping against the bed with a bloody towel wrapped around her hand.

"Yang!?" I gasp, struggling to stand and run to her. I nearly fall out of my chair, trying to do so.

"Weiss," Yang sobs. "He's still here in my head."

"Yang," I wheel over to her and rest a hand on her shoulder. "What did you do?"

Yang shakes her head like she didn't want to answer, but, instead, she pointed towards the bathroom. I feel nervous as to what was waiting for me on the other side of the closed door. A shattered mirror laid across the sink and blood dripped on the floor. It looked like Yang was struggling to find something to stop the bleeding. _She made good use of the white hand towel._

"Sorry…, about the mirror." Yang's muttering voice causes me to jump. "S-sorry! I didn't mean to…. sorry."

"It's fine," I say. "But I don't think the mirror will be just as." I meant it as a joke, but Yang doesn't look amused by it.

"I didn't mean to break your mirror. I was just… I got mad and I was scared. I am scared." Yang explains, her voice breaking several times. "I don't know what to do, Weiss. I feel so…. So helpless and weak."

I listen with caution. Yang had never done something like this before or, at least, not that I know of. Sure she can be a hot head and sometimes emotions can get the best of us and the worst of us. I want to blame it on frustration and fear, but there is something more to it. Yang said _he._

"It was Qrow again, wasn't it," I say, knowing full well that Yang had a flashback of him. With the rush of emotions and stress, it sounds like the perfect mix for disaster.

Yang's quietness gives me all the answers I need.

"Kind of..." She mutters shamefully.

"Oh, Yang." I turn to her and wave the blonde over. "Come here." I pull a pair of tweezers and tell the girl to sit down.

Yang does and I take her poorly wrapped hand. Unraveling the cloth with the utmost care and setting the bloody thing aside, I adjust my glasses and begin the slow process of picking the tiny shards of glass that may have been left behind. Neither of us says a word as I do my work. A few drops of blood fall onto my loose sweatpants. I didn't care, but Yang seemed to think I did. She apologized for every time one dripped onto my pants.

"You could have seriously injured this pretty hand of yours, Yang," I say running the water over her bloodied knuckles.

Yang dabs the little blood and water away while I get a small emergency kit under the sink and pull out several different sized band-aids. Slowly I begin to bandage up the cuts. Once done, I gingerly brush my fingertips over my messy handy work. Yang doesn't care though.

She flexes her hand in a light manner to test the bandages. "Thanks, princess."

"Next time, come tell me when something like this happens, Yang. I don't like seeing you get hurt for no reason." I say, pleadingly.

"Yes ma'am," Yang mutters. She gets up from her seat on the toilet and heads towards the door.

"Are you not going to help me clean up this mess?" I call out.

Yang spins on her heel. "Oh sh- shoot, yeah, I'll come help."

"Thank you."

Yang picks up the glass pieces and puts them in the trash. I take the bloody hand towels and rinse them out as best as I can before letting them soak in a sink full of hot water. Yang puts the little kit back under the sink, asking why I had an emergency kit in my room.

"I get cuts on my fingers for turning the pages too fast sometimes and it makes my fingers bleed every now and then," I explain.

Yang snorts, covering her mouth to hide the little laugh. "Sorry. It's so nerdy of you though."

We exit the bathroom. Yang lays down my bed, taking a pillow pushing it over her face. I hear a muffled scream come from the girl. I come up next to her and pat her leg, repeating several comforting words to the blonde.

Yang sticks up her arms and scrunches her hands. A sign for ' _please come hug, hold, snuggle, cuddle, or be my blanket for the rest of the day.'_ I've learned what some of the gestures Yang makes in her daily life during college means. Some I wish I could erase from my mind and others I think are just too cute or funny.

The blonde scrunches her hands in again, now growing a little impatient.

"I'm still in the chair, dummy," I grumble.

She waves me to come again.

"Yang, I'm still in the chair," I repeat.

She waves again.

I grow impatient with the way Yang is acting. I was going to pinch her thigh hard, but something clicked in my head. She wants me to do it on my own.

"You want me to do this on my own?" I ask, surprised when I see Yang give me a thumbs up. "Oh, Yang, I don't kn-ahh!" Yang had thrown a pillow at me. "Gah! Yang!"

"Weiss!" The blonde pops her head up, smiling. "Come on, I'm getting cold."

"Okay, okay, okay." I cry out. I lock up the chair so I can use it to keep myself balanced. Pushing myself out of the chair is easier, but getting onto the bed with Yang is another story. I grip the blankets and lean forward. I lean in too much and begin to topple over onto Yang. Our bodies collide and my chin makes direct contact with Yang's sternum. An elbow also connects with her gut. Yang curls up into a ball a little.

Yang grumbles some unkind words under her breath. "Son of a bitch, that hurt. Gods, my chest is hurting like hell now."

"S-s-Sorry! I didn't mean to fall on top of you." I sputter sitting up.

She rubbed the sore spot on her chest, grumbling. "It's… Fine."

"Are you sure you're okay?" I ask. "I can get off of you."

"No," Yang blurts out. "No, I need you right now."

Yang is sincere and pleading for me to stay where I am. Although I do feel bad for crushing the poor girl, I'll comply with her wishes and stay.

I rest my head on her shoulder and hold myself as close as I can to her.

"Thank you." She mutters, pulling me close.

We let the minutes tick by. I don't know how long we've laid here in silence as we let our thoughts run wild in our heads. It's all become too hard for me to hold everything together so I let them run free, losing myself in the mix of it all.

"We could run away, you know," Yang suggests. "We could live in Vale, close to the beach or maybe in the forest, away from it all."

"We can't, Yang," I muttered weakly. "We can't leave Winter, Raven…., and Qrow to deal with this on their own."

"But what are we going to do? We're not superhero's with some crazy ability to summon knights or set ourselves ablaze or whatever. Hell, Weiss, we're not quite adults yet." Yang explains with a tad of annoyance and anger in her tone. "So why is? Why do they need us so badly?"

Yang wants answers. I want them too, but we may never receive a shred of answers. As for now, I don't know how to answer Yang's question and it frustrates me.

"I don't know," I reply.

"Then what are we going to do?" Yang asks. For the first time, I heard the weakness in Yang's voice.

"I don't know,"

* * *

 **Just the norm! Leave some criticism, it helps, It really does. Like, comment, subscribe and I'll you guys later.**


	44. Chapter 44

**So we got a few more weeks until Rwby volume six and I kind of don't want to stress about story writing while watching the show at the same time, cause I'll get more ideas and may never finish the story until 2039 which is not what I'm aiming for. So that means I'll have to pick up the pace on these chapters or at least try to. Hope you guys enjoy the chapter and I'll see y'all on the other side!**

* * *

Yang's PoV

The days after the bomb was dropped on us that Dice plans ruin our lives and send Weiss off to be butchered or sold like a cow, were slow and, well... terrible. Weiss has laid in bed for the last couple of days, rambling on about plans and other questionable things about Dice. She yearned answers. I did too, but not in a hungry pregnant woman with a weird craving kind of way like Weiss does.

She was so hellbent on answers and clues and so on that, she missed both breakfast and lunch this morning. I've noticed she had been eating less and less leading up today. At some point, I knew she would stop eating which irked me to the core. I dragged the girl out of her room to get some fresh air, but that did stop her. Weiss muttered several thoughts and ideas under her breath, trying to find the perfect plan to use.

"Weiss, you need to calm down," I say. "You're drilling holes in your head to try and figure everything out at once."

"It's better than ignoring the situation at hand completely." She replies, not even batting an eye.

My eye twitches out of frustration. "Excuse me, Miss big brain, but I am not _ignoring_ anything except your constant muttering."

"Oh, I'm sorry." The princess snaps. "But I'm trying to figure out a good way to keep us safe, get the information we need and not get killed by the bastard that is cheating on my mother."

"Alright genius, tell me your big plan!" I exclaim angrily throwing my hands in the air.

"I don't have one because you keep pulling me away from my train of thought!" She cries out. "You're being too loud so go stand or bother someone else for a while, Yang. I'm busy at the moment."

I grit my teeth. "What happened to _we can do this together_? Was that bullshit and you were lying to me?"

"I don't have time to argue with you," Weiss growls. "Dice will be here in three days and Winter and I need figure a good plan if I can get in touch with her."

The white-haired teen completely ignores me. "Oh, am I not reliable anymore?"

"No, because you lost your fight," Weiss states harshly. "You wanted to run away. You want to hide from this."

"I didn't lose my fight. This was never my fight, to begin with, and it's not your fight either, Weiss." I point out.

"It is my fight. And it's your fight too." Weiss replies. "We've been a part of this since the beginning of it all."

"It was forced on us," I growl. "We were fine until some dumbass thought it was a good idea to invite us to be apart of this secret circle shit."

"James is not an idiot!" Weiss screams. "He saved my life once and I feel like this a good way to return the favor."

Weiss never told me that James Ironwood saved her life. I know very little about the relationship the two share together and I didn't know how deep the roots ran until now. I feel bad for calling her savior a dumbass, but would he want her involved in all of this? Wouldn't he be more careful with Weiss? He knows how traumatic her life has been so why is he putting her through so much more? Could he be setting her up? I would be more than pissed off if he did that to the poor girl and even after how much she looked up to him? How could he do something like that?

"He's only putting you in more danger," I say. "You know that right?"

"Yes, but…."

"And you know he's not the one that's relying completely on you. He only told us what was going on at the time. We didn't need to be put in this mess." I explain a calmer demeanor. "We could have left. We could have ignored this whole problem."

"And what good would that do, Yang?" Weiss cried out. "If we ignored all of our problems, what would happen? What if I completely ignored the fact that I can't walk anymore?"

"Weiss, calm do-"

"What if you ignored me since I am your problem? How do you think I would feel?" Tears forming in the corners of her eyes.

I'm shocked that she would say that about herself. "Weiss…. you're not a problem."

"Look at me!" She gestures to herself. "I can't even take a bath without supervision. I can't get out of bed without someone's help. Food has to be taken to me. I hate it! I hate all of it! I'm only a burden to everyone now! I'm worthless!"

Every word that falls from her mouth, puts a deep cut on both of us. Weiss just want to feel useful again. She needs to do something to make her feel her worth again. To me, that is pretty dumb. Weiss is worth more than she thinks. In fact, she is priceless and nothing can replace her. Nothing.

Weiss angrily wipes her tears away and wheels off. Hearing her sniffle as I stand there, feet glued to the floor and a breaking heart, letting her slip away from me.

I grit my teeth angrily. "GAH! How could I have been so stupid?! I shouldn't have yelled at her. I should have seen how torn up she would be about her worth. Weiss has always been like that. She has always struggled with this kind of stuff."

"There is a lot of things that can be hard to miss in her."

"Gah!" I jump away from the voice in surprise. "Oh… Klein."

The small butler smiles softly. "Miss Xiao-Long. I see you and Miss Schnee are struggling to find an agreement on something. May I be of assistance?"

"Erm…" I don't know if it's a good idea to get the small butler involved in this, but I guess the more heads put together, the faster I can fix this. "Sure, er… Yes, please. I would like your help on… the situation at hand." I try to sound fancy to show Klein that I have at least some class and I'm not a bumbling idiot. Instead, I prove the wrong point.

For some odd reason I feel like if I ever truly do hurt Weiss, which I won't I have already made that promise, Klein would be the first to know and would hunt me down and murder me one of those fancy silver butter knives for whatever I did to Weiss.

"May we walk?" Klein asks gesturing in the opposite direction of where Weiss went.

I hesitate for a moment, but nod in agreement and Klein leads. It's not that I don't trust Klein too much, it's that I don't know Klein well enough. He could pull out a knife at any given moment from one of his little butler pockets and stab me in the gut and runoff.

Picturing the small man pull a clean sharp piece of silver from his pocket and ramming it in my gut causes a shiver to run down my spine. Not the best way to go down.

"You and Weiss are stressed about the same thing, no?" Klein asks out of the blue.

"Yeah, we have a lot on our minds right now and we're not agreeing with each other on something."

"Would you mind sharing. Weiss didn't share her struggles with me even though I repeatedly said I could help her with her problem, the girl still refused." Klein explains.

"Well," I rub the back of my head. "She's in a rough spot right now and wants to do it on her own," I reply.

"What makes you say that?"

My mind flashes back to Weiss yelling at me just a few minutes ago for being worthless. "It's… just a hunch."

"Hmm…" Klein doesn't push the subject any farther. He stops. "So what it is you two are struggling with?"

There are tons of things I could say right now. I could open my mouth and spew out every single secret that Weiss and I have been hiding. I could tell him that Weiss had been threatened, and we were kidnapped by good guys (which doesn't make much sense now that I think about it), I found out my mom was alive, we moved to an apartment. Weiss was still getting threats, we were being spied on by the creepy elevator boy and other staff, I had a secret meeting with Qrow, we got in a fight. Weiss came home and got in a wreck, taking some of our friends away (I'm sure Klein already knows that). And the person behind all of this crazy shit is her stepfather because he wants his son or the company. I can't really tell at this point. All the lines have been blurred one big globby mess of things.

"Some personal stuff…. that she and I are going through," I respond wisely. "But we may have bitten off more than we can chew."

"Care to elaborate?"

I thought for a second. _What would Weiss think if I told her butler what was going on right now? She would be furious I know that much, but there's no stopping me from telling him my side. Who knows. Maybe Klein could help us or write me out as some crazy person. I guess I'll bend the story a bit to make it sound more believable._

"Well, it all started out with these threatening texts that Weiss had been receiving when we first met. We were thinking it would go away after a while, but it kind of escalated and got out of hand." I explain. In the back of my mind, a little voice is telling me to be cautious of what I say. "That how Winter, Ironwood, and my Uncle got involved. They did some digging and… some stuff about both of our families came up."

"Did they find the man who's been giving Weiss so much grief and stress?" Klein responds. His tone cool and flat like a sheet of ice.

I bite my lip. _Should I tell him?_

"You're not telling me the full story, Miss Xiao-Long," Klein speaks up. "I can see that you are figuring out what to say next. I would prefer the truth than a lie."

My hands fall to the sides. "No, I'm not. I'm scared of what you might think about the situation and more importantly me."

There is a pregnant pause than a soft chuckle. "My dear girl. If you make my little snowbird happy then there is no need for me to pass judgment on you. Nothing will change my mind, I promise."

His words make me feel a little more confident in myself, but the voice in the back of my head is telling me to keep my mouth shut. I don't know what to do. I can't shut down yet, that would unfair for Klein since we've gotten this far into the conversation. I might as well finish it off.

"We… we think the person behind it all is Dice," I mutter, pulling my gaze towards the floor. "And he might be trying to kill Weiss for the company."

Klein's body stiffens. He might not look shocked on the outside, but I can tell he's having a hard time wrapping his head around this new information due to the long silence.

"And Weiss is having trouble understanding his motives?" Klein asks hesitantly.

"No," I shake my head. "Winter has devised a plan to get Dice to confess, but Weiss doesn't think it's the best idea yet. I don't think the plan we've come up with is good at all."

It takes Klein a minute or two to get his brain back in working order. He's shocked that so much has happened behind his back. It's not a surprise to me that he'd be shocked. I would be too if someone told me my boss is planning to kill their stepdaughter for the company.

The butler straightens himself up. "Why would… she hid this from me for that long? I thought I knew everything about her, but I suppose she wants to keep a few things secret. Weiss would be wise to tell the police or her mother at least."

There's a shocker. I thought Klein would call me crazy or a lier for accusing Dice of what is happening to Weiss. Dice has made a good reputation with the people in the Schnee Manor. If I had told anyone else they would call me crazy, even Miss Schnee would call me crazy.

"You're not… freaking out about this?" I ask nervously. "Like you're just going to believe me?"

Klein smiles warmly. "I do not fully believe all of the claims you are making. I do believe the threatening texts and Winter and James being involved in this. Why else would Winter come back to the manor? She never really visits. Too many scars and hurtful memories for her here."

I haven't heard that about Winter before. Weiss has always said that Winter was cold-hearted and now I know the reason why.  
"She comes back for Weiss?"

Klein nods then chuckles wholeheartedly. "Winter may have a cold exterior, but on the inside, she's warm-hearted and kind especially towards her younger sister. It's sad to know what Weiss thinks of her now though."

A twinge of guilt and hurt pinch my chest. Weiss used to look up to Winter, I'm sure she still does, but now she's struggling to find the person she looked up to so long ago.

"This family has struggled for too long, Yang."

I'm taken back when Klein says my name instead of _miss Xiao-Long._ It must be a sign of growth between the two of us.

"And it has needed some hope for a while now." Klein rests a hand on my shoulder. "I believe you are that hope."

It's a lot of weight to carry. To be another Family's hope when you're not your own family's hope. Why would Klein say that? I haven't done anything spectacular or amazing for this family. So why me?

"Someday you'll figure it out, but, for now, you have bigger things to focus on," Klein says before walking off.

 _What does he mean by that?_

"W-wait!" Klein stops. "So… are you not worried about will happen to Weiss?"

Klein is silent for a moment. "I am, but there isn't much I can do in this situation. You, on the other hand, can help change the outcome of the future."

"And what are you going to do with the stuff I told you?"

Another short pause. "I'll hold onto it and keep a close eye on the two of you. For now, it'll be our little secret." I had more questions that need answers, but Klein leaves before I can ask them.

He acted _oddly,_ to say the least. He didn't freak out or get defensive over the information. He didn't accuse me of faulty information or anything like that. It was weird to see how calmly he handled everything. Klein did take half of my story with a grain of salt, but he believes that something dangerous is going on and that could mean a big difference at the end of the day.

I just hope I did the right thing telling him what is going on behind closed doors.

I kick the ground weakly, muttering. "Now what do I do?"

"Miss Xiao-Long."

"Gah!" I jump again. One of the maids had stuck up from behind and scared me. "Oh… er, yes?"

The woman looked young, in her mid-thirties maybe, and an angered glare in her eyes. "Would you care to explain why Miss Schnee's bathroom looks like a bomb hit it?"

"Um…. No?"

The woman is less than amused.

"Okay, I might have lost my temper and broke the mirror and-"

"Not that. The bath was overflowing, towels were laid across the floor, and soaked clothes on the sink."

"Woah, woah. I didn't do that. I have been talking to Klein for the last ten or so minutes." I explain.

The maid shoves an angry shaking finger in my face. "No one else uses that bathroom except for Miss Schnee and I refuse to believe that she would leave her bathroom a mess."

Something isn't right. Weiss wouldn't leave her bathroom a mess and I sure as hell wouldn't leave someone else's bathroom a war zone.

"Have you seen Weiss around?" I ask not really paying attention to the woman accusing me of the messy bath.

"I… What? No, I haven't."

"Do you a good idea of where she is though?"

The maid shakes her head and that's all I needed to know. I leave the angry woman in the courtyard, rushing back to Weiss' room. _The girl better not have gone and hurt herself._

The room looked empty when I entered. It doesn't look like Weiss has been here either. Something still doesn't feel right though. I'm missing something.

"Son of a… Grrr!" an aggravated growl comes deep in the bathroom.

"Weiss," I call out.

"Weiss isn't here right now come back later!" Weiss yelled angrily.

 _Yep, still mad._

I step into the bathroom, slowly opening the door. Weiss has her body half slinger over the tub reaching for something. She did not look pleased.

The bathroom looked like a wreck I can tell you that. Towels laid everywhere and soaked clothing sit, bundled up, on the counter. The wheelchair sat in the corner of the room. Out of sight and out of mind.

"Can I help you?" She asks, not batting an eye towards me. "I'm busy at the moment."

"No, but it looks like you need help," I say stepping up close.

"No! No." Weiss stops me. "I got it." She stretched her words out as she reached for what looked like a bar of soap.

Watching Weiss struggle aggravated a nerve in me. It would be much easier if I just got it for her, but Weiss, being the way she is, has to make a point do it on her own.

She leaned back into the tub, her hand raised with the bar of soap. "Got it."

Weiss looks proud, I am proud to that she did it on her own, but something about it bothered me. She could have seriously hurt herself getting in the tub and she could have fallen out while grabbing the soap or slipped under the water.

"You could have hurt yourself, you know," I say crossing my arms.

Weiss rolls her eyes, shaking her head. "But I didn't."

" _But_ you could have and no one would be up here to help."

"I can do things on my own, Yang, I'm not a child."

"I'm not saying you are," I mutter quietly. "I'm just trying to help."

"If you want to help me then support me, not hold me back."

I'm a little surprised that she even heard me, but then again, it's Weiss.

"Look, Yang. There's a point where I need to do things on my own, otherwise, how will I grow?" Weiss says. "We can rely on each other, but not too much. You won't always be there when I need you and I won't always be there when you need me."

"I know, I know, I just…" A strong sigh passes my lips. "I don't know to be honest. I always thought I would be your knight in shining armor, but I guess not."

Weiss is silent for a moment. I thought the conversation has ended so I begin to exit, but the girl stops me.

"We're both overworking ourselves," I turn back to see a small smile on Weiss' lips. "Would you like to join me and we can be a normal couple one more time before everything falls apart."

It doesn't take long for me to answer. "Yes."

Weiss turns when I begin to strip. I do it quickly mostly because I want to get in the tub and clear my head. The water is hot and refreshing. A tingle in my toes crawls fast up my legs and spine. It's relaxing. I'm careful not to step or sit on Weiss' legs as I climb in. The water feels amazing as I slide down into it. The water barely reaches my chest, but I'm sure Weiss has no problem with the nudity.

"Okay," I sigh. "You can look now."

Weiss turns back.

An awkward silence falls us. Neither of us knows what to actually talk about seeing that the only thing we talk about is death and people hunting us down for their own personal gain. We could talk about the weather or our lives, but we already know the weather is nice and our lives are a mess.

"So… uh… How are you?" Weiss asks.

It's an odd question in a situation like this.

"Uh…" I think for a second, letting my fingers drum against the tub's rim. _Is this a trick question or am I overthinking it? Does it matter? Just say something._ "I'm…. good?"

Weiss shakes her head with a bemused smile on her lips. "Is that all you have to say? _I'm good?_ "

"Well, what would you like me to say?" I ask, my short temper nearly getting the best of me.

Weiss pushes past the tone and asks another question. A more serious question this time. "You think we'll ever be normal again?"

I open my mouth but quickly close it. Something like this needs to be more thought out. I want to be optimistic and say yes we'll be normal again, but we're so deep into the darkness. I don't know if we'll get all of the pieces of ourselves we've lost as we find our way through this mess.

"To be honest, Weiss, I don't know," I mutter, pulling my legs to my chest. "It's hard to tell. I know we'll find some pieces of ourselves along the way, but that doesn't mean we won't have normal lives again."

Another short pause.

"I'm… sorry for… for getting mad at you this afternoon." The white-haired girl mutters. "I don't know how to deal with all of this and you not being there…" she shakes her. "Sorry. It's not your fault in the first place."

"No," I reply immediately. "I should have been there, mentally, at least, for you. I should have helped think of something else, but I was busy being selfish."

"We both were," Weiss adds. "We both weren't on the same page and ended up getting frustrated and angered with each other."

I nod slowly. "Yeah, I can agree with that."

"How can you not agree? It's the truth."

I smile at Weiss' newfound snarky attitude. And to think that she was a shy and quiet girl a few months ago, Weiss has really opened up to me.

"I guess you're right again ice queen." I get splashed with warm for that comment.

Weiss grumbles irritatedly. "Why does everyone call me that? I've never been cold in my life."

"I don't know," I say with a teasing smile. "I think the water is getting colder right now."

"What? Afraid the cold water will you freeze to death?"

"No, I'm too hot for that," I say boastfully, flipping my hair with a hand. "You on the other hand," Weiss' demeanor changes. She's worried I might say something ugly, but I'm not that kind of person. "Have more curves than a snowman."

The girl's face scrunches up. "Is that a compliment?"

"It's a compliment, Princess," I say, adding. "You got curves in all the right places."

Weiss shakes her head, smiling. She actually looked relaxed and happy. A rare sight nowadays. For once we forgot about the danger that'll come to us in a few days. We a seat in the back and let someone else take the wheel while we talked as if there was nothing to worry about.

We acted like normal kids on another normal day of the year.

* * *

 **Interesting chapter. I did some experimenting with this one. Hope you guys enjoyed it. Like, comment, subscribe, and I'll see y'all next time. BYE!**


	45. Chapter 45

**Got some good stuff! Rwby Volume 6 is in 16 days if you don't count today, Thursday. Which means all of my grades are going to burn in hellfire because I'll be focusing on RWBY!. Anyway, It's early and short. I have a band contest on Saturday and tomorrow is rival day in football so all hands on deck. enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

After soaking in the bath for nearly an hour Weiss and I get out. Me being first and putting one of Weiss' fluffy robes that barely cover up my check, butt, and groin. The thing could rip right off if I'm not careful enough.

"Hand me a towel," Weiss says reaching out a hand, scrunching her fingers. "Please."

"Alright."

I pull out a towel out from one of her many cabinets. Weiss drains the tub and I hand over the towel to her. She covers herself and asks for a hand. Weiss nearly crushes my hand into dust as I help her out of the tub. I can complain though. The girl is getting out of a slippery tub and half paralyzed.

"I can help you out," I say, reaching to pick her up bridal style. She stops me as usual and slowly and carefully climbs out herself. I cringe when she nearly loses her towel and now I'm starting to think she should have been given a robe instead.

Weiss had gotten one foot out nicely, but the other clips the edge of the tub and is sent tumbling forward on to me. I easily catch her though, holding Weiss close to me.

"You okay," I ask, voice full of concern.

"Y-Yeah." Weiss sputters, fingers digging into the robe that is already struggling to stay on my body. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just a little mishap is all."

"Would you like to sit down or…"

"I would like some clothing on my body." She says as if the incident didn't happen. "And raise your hands. They're getting scarcely close to my backside."

My cheeks redden as I raise my hands to the middle of Weiss' back. "Sorry. Sometimes, my hands have a mind of their own, ya know."

Weiss looks at me with this gleam in her eyes. "Yes, I know all too well miss touchy-feely."

I take her nickname as a compliment and get Weiss a robe of her own. Something much more modest than a single towel. We walk back to the bedroom and get dressed for bed. I get a little sidetracked every now and then. Sneaking glance of Weiss as she gets dressed. I'm sure she has taken some peaks of me as well, but it's nothing neither of us has seen anyway.

"I enjoyed the bath tonight," Weiss speaks up. "It felt good to sit down and goof around for once without a care in the world. I wish…" She heaves out a heavy sigh. "I wish we could do that more often."

I smile warmly and rest a hand on her shoulder. "Hey, once this is all over I'll take you in the best date of your life. We'll have some rocking milkshakes, amazing burgers, build a fort and watch some cheesy movie that we can criticize together. I promise. It'll be like nothing ever happened."

I notice the small half smile on the girl's face. She sticks her pinky in the air. "Pinky promise?"

I wouldn't Weiss to know what pinky promising is, but the girl full of surprises though. I wrap my pinky around hers. "Pinky promise," I said before kissing her on the cheek then lower on her neck.

"Yang… stop." Weiss hums. I know she told me to stop but I also know she doesn't really want me to stop.

I wrap my arms around her waist. Her legs shaking from the struggle of keeping her standing for so long. She's been on her feet far longer than she should be and longer than I had expected. So I take it upon myself to pick up the little princess a throw her on the bed. Weiss yelps when she leaves my arms. Then she angrily scolds me for throwing her on the bed, but I quickly halt the scolding before it becomes a mark.

I crawl on top of her with a wicked smile on my lips, speaking in a husky voice. "Hey, princess."

Weiss shakes her head, sighing as though I'd disappointed her. "Yang, not now."

"Now is the perfect time," I said leaning closer.

She puts a silnge finger on my lips. "No, I said not now and I mean it." The look in her eyes means she is serious.

"Ugh! Fine." I grumble, leaning back. "Nice underwear by the way. Love the yellow stripes."

Weiss' face burns red. "Stop looking at my-"

"Panties?"

The girl is silent for a second before grumbling under her breath. "You're insufferable."

"But," I say walking my finger up Her stomach and poking her in the nose. "You still love me."

"I do, sadly. Now get off of me!"

"Okay, okay. I'm going. I'm going. No need to get your undies in a knot." I say crawling off of the girl and taking a seat next to her.

Weiss sits up and punches me in the shoulder. I'm sure it hurt her more than it hurt, but Weiss doesn't show it.

"Rude." She grumbles again.

I nudge her. "Come on. I'm not that rude. Heck, I'm not rude at all miss punching people in the arm for no real reason."

"I suppose you're not."

"So what would you like to do?" I ask, stroking my hair, getting all of the tangles out of my golden locks. "Watch a movie, play a game, read a book, something more exciting to get our minds off of things."

Weiss rubs her temple. "It's bad enough that I know what you're talking about, Yang. I'm not doing virgin sex until this is all over."

An ugly laugh brews in my throat. "Virgin sex?! Where did you come up with that?! And why did you name our little love cession virgin sex?!"

"Oh, and do you have a better name to call what we did a few nights ago?" Weiss huffs with crossed arms. "I'm all ears for it."

I shrug, still trying to hold back the laugh. "Above the belt, princess." I snicker. "Not everyone will understand what we are talking about unlike you being flat out truthful."

Weiss is quiet. She knows I'm right and doesn't want to openly admit it. I'll humor her and let this good teasing moment slide of once. Next time she won't be so lucky.

"So what do you want to do," I repeat.

"I want you to get me a pair of PJ bottoms." She commands pointing towards the closet. "Snuggle with me until I'm all warm and happy while we watch a movie."

"Oooh! But I like seeing these little legs of yours." I whine, giving Weiss the biggest puppy dog eyes I can muster. "Please don't wear anything that'll cover up these lovely legs of yours!"

The white-haired girl eyes me for a second. "Ugh! Fine."

"Yes!" I pump a fist in the air. "Yes, yes, yes!"

"But it's only for tonight got it. I'm not doing this ever again or at least not until everything is resolved. After that, I might take it into consideration." Weiss informs.

"I hear you loud and clear Weissy!"

"And no touchy-feely, okay?" She jams a finger in my face.

I wave her finger off. "Pfft! I wouldn't dream of it."

We crawl under the covers and I pull out my phone. "So what would you like to watch?"

Weiss thinks for a minute, taping her chin. "Hmm… Surprise me."

"Surprise it is!"

I scroll through the many options on my phone. Most of the movies on my phone are either Disney or action movies. I'm sure Weiss would like something other than explosions or princesses getting saved big strong men that neither of us are attracted to. There are a couple of horror movies on here that are good, but Weiss isn't the biggest fan horror if I remember well enough. Picturing Weiss needing me to protect her from big bad scary monsters does sound great. Like one of those romantic movie tropes that most people use. So I think I'll go down that road and see how things turn out.

"We're gonna watch Grimm Tales," I say typing the name in the search bar. "Do you have a problem with that?"

"No. In all honesty, I've never seen or heard of Grimm Tales. It sounds interesting enough to keep me awake for the time being, so continue on with the show you want to watch."

"Sweet." I click on the movie that comes up first and Weiss scoots in close. I use my hand as a prop to hold up the phone up while we watch. "Now if you don't like the movie then tell me. Other than that, lay back, relax, and enjoy."

The movie starts off with a narrator talking about these two gods that fought over this world. One of the gods, the god of darkness, made these creatures known as Grimm to overcome the light, but that didn't work. The light always found a way back and the god of light had decided that their feud couldn't go on any longer. The two decided to make one last creation before leaving the world behind.

Mankind.

The gods abandoned the world and left man to create their own world and make their own choices. But what they didn't know is that dark creatures roam in the darkness. That is where the movie starts.

A group of kids has decided to debunk the idea of Grimm living in a nearby abandoned town or existing at all in the world they live in. These teens are around our age, each with their own camera as they joke around, traveling through the forest. The moment a tree branch snaps in the distance, Weiss curls up close to me. I can already feel her little heart thumping in her chest.

I wrap my arm around her and pull her even closer. "I got you, princess."

"I know you do now be quiet." Weiss shushes me.

I roll my eyes. _Thank you, Yang, for protecting me. Oh, no problem Weiss._

The kids venture deep into the forest. All of them sticking together which is a smart move to make seeing that it is a horror movie. Then more crunching in the distance causes all of them to freeze. One kid even whips a gun and the rest of the group huddled around him.

Funny enough a deer pops out of the dark where everyone's flashlight is pointed. They all laugh and joke about the fake scare and continue on to the town.

"They actually filmed this out by an old town in Mistral," I whispered loud enough for Weiss to hear. "It took them some time to find the location since it was out in the middle of nowhere."

"Oh, really?" She comments as if she were truly interested.

"Yeah. After the wars, a whole bunch of towns were abandoned around Mistral. So they used different locations to film the movie."

"Hmm. And what other weird movie facts do you know that are worthy of sharing with me?"

"Well Jarred," I point at the boy with the gun. "Accidentally shot Christ in the calf. Luckily it was only a bee-bee gun, though I can't say it didn't hurt the dude. I'm sure he lost his gun privileges for a while."

The group had made it into the town known as Sheon. It was one of the last towns that were affected by the wars before it ended. The place looked like a serious ghost town. The perfect place to film a horror movie.

The camera became still as the kids explored. There's nothing in the town that screams this place is haunted or cursed or is infested with dark creatures that will eat you up in one bite. It's just a normal abandoned town with a sad past.

The group set up camp, sleeping bags, and blankets, in the middle of town. I can't say if that is a good idea or not, but it does kick off some crazy stuff later on in the movie.

"Is there anything else I should know before-" Weiss is cut off by an inhuman scream coming from the movie. The girl shivers and pulls the covers up closer to her face.

 _Scaredy cat_. I thought with a small smirk that someone can only see if they squint.

"Now the fun begins," I mutter under my breath.

"S-shut up." Weiss whimpers elbowing me in the arm.

"Okay, okay. Sorry."

In groups of two, the teens head out to find out who or what made the terrifying scream out in the wild. Christ and Claire decide to ditch the rest of their friends and head back to town, leaving the others to fend for themselves.

"Jerks," Weiss mutters.

I snort at her small comment and add. "Well, they're pretty smart to spot the danger and leave unlike everyone else."

"I suppose, but I would tell my friends that something is wrong with the situation and then we would all leave together and if those who want to stay can," Weiss says. "I wouldn't just leave my friends to die out in the wild."

"Yes, but it is a horror movie," I reply. "Someone has to be punished or killed in these types of films."

"It's always about death with these movies." The girl grumbles unpleasantly. "Why can't they make a funny horror movie where no one dies?"

"Then it's not a horror movie, Weiss. It's just some cheap jumpscares and frights and that's it."

"It still would scary!"

"Maybe for you, but for me?" I jam a thumb at my chest. "I need some thrills in my life. I'm getting old, Weiss and I can't move these muscles like I used to."

"I can surely put that to the test, Miss Xiao-Long." Weiss huffs. "Your muscles were working just fine when you caught me falling out of the tub and just a few minutes ago you thought it was a good idea to start some… some… some stuff with me."

I put a finger to my lips. "Shh! You're disrupting the movie."

Weiss looks at me dumbfounded. "Did you just shush me?"

"Shhh!"

Weiss huffs slumps in the pillows. Now she's really in a grumpy mood. I lean in to kiss her on the temple and tuck her under my chin.

"You know I'm only teasing right?"

"Yes, but you were also being annoying."

"Oh, well I didn't mean to do that."

Weiss sighs, I can feel her playing a strand of my hair. Usually, I would get angry or put a stop to it, but Weiss is the exception. I like it when she plays with it. "It's okay, I forgive you."

We continue to watch the movie with small comments and little whispers here and there. Nothing big. Whenever one of us made a comment the other would agree or disagree. We're at least criticizing the movie together and not each other. This made the movie more enjoyable to watch than what I originally thought.

The movie ends with the usual horror movie ending. Everyone is dead and no one hears from the teens ever again until police or explorers find their bodies. Writing all of their deaths off as a murder case that runs cold and will never be solved. The people who saw them last would be questioned and the cameras that were found had nothing much to give except for the few inky black bodies they were able to spot. Nothing else happens.

"Well, that was a fun movie," I say throwing my phone aside.

"Must you throw your valuables away?" Weiss mutters.

"Now why would I throw you off the bed, Weissy?" I ask, wrapping my limbs around her. "You are my pride and joy!"

"Is that all I am to you?" She replies. I know she's only joking, but I want to see how far she is willing to take her little joke.

"Yes, that is all you'll ever be to me."

"Than I would break up with you."

I stopped rubbing her back and shoulders, shocked that she would say that. "Why would you?"

"I would want a girlfriend who can carry herself with the pride of her own accomplishments and have joy in other things than just getting that emotion from me," Weiss explains. "I would feel used if that's all they want me for."

Her answer puts a wide grin on my face. _Gods, this girl. Always gunning it and never taking anything slow._

Weiss spots my dumb grin and asks. "Are you okay?"

I shake the grin off my face. "Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just so happy that I have an amazing girlfriend like you."

"You better or I may consider breaking up with you." She smirked evilly.

"Pfft! Yeah, right. What would you do without me?" I say, challenging her words.

"I'd move on."

"Your loss."

Weiss seemed fine for the moment, but her teasing demeanor falls flat quicker than a rock can sink in water. "What if we do break up? Would we still be able to be friends or would that make our hearts ache for each other?"

"Plu-ease! We'd never break up. We love each other too much."

I thought it would help ease her mind or maybe, just maybe, she would drop the subject. Thinking about leaving Weiss puts a terrible pit of disgust in my gut. My heart would break like glass for the both of us. I've been left by so many people who I gave a piece of my heart to, but I gave Weiss all of my heart. So if I left her as everyone else left me? Then I would be leaving my heart behind as well. And I can't do that.

Not to Weiss and not to myself either.

"Sometimes loving someone too much is like playing with fire and not expecting to get burned," Weiss mutters softly.

I can't argue with the truth.

"Come on," I say pressing a soft kiss on the girl's forehead. "Let's just get some sleep. I have a feeling tomorrow is going to be crazy."

A pause.

"Okay," Weiss pecks me on the lips then curls under my chin. "I love you, Yang. Goodnight."

"Love you too, Weiss."

The morning came sooner then I had expected. I wish it didn't come at all, but today is going to be hell for our group of ragtag detectives. Honestly, I'm surprised we've made it this far with the little pieces of information we've got. I guess it does help when your mom is a gang boss and your uncle is working for the F.B.I or whatever secret organization he with. At this point, it doesn't matter.

Klein made crepes for us. One of Weiss' favorite breakfasts. It puts a smile on the girls face seeing the fresh strawberries and clean white whipped cream sitting in a bowl on the table. Flat, perfect circled, crepes sit steaming on nice white plates. Crystal glasses stand proudly next to the plate with bright orange juice waiting to quench a dry throat.

I wonder if Klein thought about what I told him and knew that the next couple of days are going to be chaos. He could have taken it upon himself to make the best breakfast as possible for us. Or he's just being nice.

"Breakfast looks great," I say taking a seat. "Come on. We both need something in our system and we've got a long day ahead of us."

Weiss wheels over to the empty space next to me and we eat. The crepes taste great. Like a pancake but without being filled up so quickly. _I wonder if Nora would like these?_

"Gotta ask Klein for this crepe recipe," I say with half a full mouth.

Weiss scoffs. "Hah! Good luck with that."

"Secret recipe?"

"The most secretive thing he owns."

"I'm not surprised."

We giggle. It's good to get a laugh in before diving into serious business.

"You think he has some embarrassing baby stories about you?" I ask with a mischievous grin.

Weiss snaps her head up. "Do not ask him that!"

"Now I'm definitely going to ask him," I say getting up from my seat and striding towards the nearest pair of doors. Pulling open the double doors, I call back. "He might have baby pict-"

I pause seeing Miss Schnee standing on the other side of the of the doors. Her eyes red and puffy cheeks freshly stained with tears. She stands tall, but she looks like a glass that could shatter and a single touch.

"Mother?!" Weiss gasps. "What happened?"

When she spoke the words in a broken and cold tone, I felt my blood freeze with terror and disbelief.

"Dice has been murdered."

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 **You didn't expect that now did you! In all Honesty, I didn't plan for either. I was thinking to myself a couple of nights ago like _who should I kill off?_ Then I was like _Dice needs to exit the scene._ His death doesn't really affect the ending except that he's dead and not going to jail so... Yeah. Hope you guys enjoyed the short chapter and leave some criticism. Like, comment, subscribe and I'll see you guys next time. BYE!**


	46. Chapter 46

**Volume SIX is almost here! Weiss with her scarf and leggings/tights gives me the purest joy. We are in the final stretch of chapters guys. Thanks for all of the support and love y'all given the story. Hope you guys enjoy the chapter!**

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No words can describe the shocking and unforgettable words that will forever be in the back of our minds for the rest our lives. Dice is dead. He's the bad guy and he's dead. Isn't that a good thing for us?

No.

None of us wanted him to end up dead. We only wanted him behind bars, alive, and spending his life reflecting on what he did to all of us. Now there is no plan and we don't know what to do next. Everything has been turned upside down on us and Weiss and I don't know what our next step is without the help of Winter Qrow. Neither which we've heard since Tuesday last week.

"H… how did th… how did this happen?" Weiss asks in a wavering tone. After everything Dice did to the poor girl, Weiss still cared for him in the end.

Miss Schnee shakes her head meaning she doesn't know or she doesn't want to tell us. Either way, it will still be hard for the woman who lost her husband due to a terrible crime like this. Then it all snaps together in my brain. In the few moments Miss Schnee coming in here and telling us the news, I forgot that she didn't know what Dice's real intentions were. Weiss and I are sure not to tell her anytime soon now and it'll be hard to explain what he was planning when the time comes.

"Here, take a seat, Miss Schnee," I say in a soft tone, wrapping a comforting arm around the woman's shoulder and taking her to the nearest chair.

The woman fumbles around on her feet but is able to sit properly. Weiss hands her a handkerchief to use. My concerning gaze lingering on Weiss' terrified face. She stares back but not for long, Weiss has her attention elsewhere.

"Gods, how could this happen?" Weiss mutters in bafflement. "Who would do such a thing?"

Willow answers in a weak, whisper. "I don't know. Gods, I wish I knew why." She rubs her temple looking like she has a surreal headache. "I may need a drink or two after this." The Woman then turns to Weiss. "Is that alright with you, Love?"

The look on Weiss' face tells me that she's not too keen on the idea of Willow drinking to get her mind off things. I don't like it either, but I feel the need to say it's okay for her to have a drink and clear her head, though I'm against drinking. I can let this one time go without stomping off angrily.

Weiss looks at me for an answer. I shrug, saying. "I don't care about it."

"Okay, then… I don't care about it either."

"Then could one of you fetch Klein and have him bring me a glass of red wine," Willow says.

"I already have the wine right here Miss Schnee." Klein had popped up out of nowhere with an open bottle of red wine and a glass full of it.

Willow takes the glass and sips on it a while, either savoring the wine or getting lost in the red liquid. "You two are to stay in this house until the authorities figure out what has happened to my husband." She says after a long gulp.

"We're under house arrest?" Weiss pipes up in shock.

"For the time being, yes," Willow replies without batting an eye.

"What will you do?" I ask taking a step forward.

The woman swirls the red liquid around in her glass, thinking. "I'm going to sit here and collect myself. Now is not the best time to break down."

Weiss and I say nothing else and leave. Klein stops me just out of earshot of Weiss.

"Please watch after her, Miss Xiao-Long." The man begs quietly. "She's all Willow has left now."

I glance at Weiss. "I will, Mister K. I will."

We go back up to Weiss' room not knowing of the surprise that is waiting for us.

Weiss went in first then me. Nothing out of the normal caught my eye until I did a double take of the room. A dark figure stood out on the balcony. It's too hard to tell who or what it is because of the blinds. I pray it's my imagination playing tricks on my eyes and not some flashback of Qrow a drunken mess.

Luckily it's not because Weiss sees the same black mass as I do and gasps loudly. She struggles to find her voice and I come to her side.

"Hide," I whisper, tiptoeing up to the door.

Weiss grabs my wrist, stopping me and whispering loudly. "No! Don't try and be a hero, Yang. It's not worth it."

There's no time for me to reply. The balcony door swings open and I stagger back, keeping myself between Weiss and them.

I breathe out a sigh of relief when it's only Raven.

Raven?!

"How did you do that? And why are you here?" I cry out.

The black haired woman rolls her eyes, walking in more. I stand my ground between Weiss and Raven. There is no telling what the gang boss has planned and after hearing Dice getting murdered, I'm starting to lose some trust in my own mother.

"I'm glad to see that neither of you are hurt." She says in a calm tone. "When I heard that Dice was murdered, I knew they would come after you two next."

Weiss and I glance at each other, both of us with a questioning look on our faces.

"What are you talking about?" Weiss asks. I can tell she fears what the answer might be. "Who's _they_?"

"I may have suspected that Dice wasn't the one who truly wanted the company to himself, but Cinder Fall and the woman she is working with," Raven explains, crossing her arms. "She was using him for her own personal gain. And when he didn't give her what she wanted in the time she needed it, Cinder took care of him and she's coming for you and your mother next."

A tense silence falls over the three of us.

"How… how do you know about this?" I sputter. The fear of the situation now strikes my heart and I realize how dangerous and how far these people will go to get what they want.

Raven sighs. "I've been with them for a couple months remember. That's how Qrow and Winter got all of the information they have. Which brings me to the next piece information that I have gotten from your sister and Uncle."

"What is that?"

"We are moving the three of you to a safer location. Menagerie."

Shock rocks me to the core. They are taking us all the way out there! My gods, these people are powerful if we are going to Menagerie. "What about Mom and Dad and Ruby? Aren't they in danger if they want us all out of the way?"

Raven thinks for a moment. "I wouldn't put it behind Cinder to hunt down our family and as a precaution, I'll be the one along several of my most trusted members to join me in keeping an eye on them."

That's more shocking than Weiss and I getting shipped out to Menagerie. Is Raven ready to give up her family's home where she's kept the location hidden from her gang for so long? Is she ready to risk everything to keep them safe and out of danger?

"Cinder may not know where your family lives, Yang. In fact, she may not even care." Weiss Pipes up. "To her, you are just a small bump in the road that will cause little to no damage at all."

"But both Crow and Raven are involved in this." I reply, "I'm sure Cinder would use our family as leverage to get us to give up. Plus, I'm not willing to risk my family getting hurt."

"But if Cinder finds out what Raven has done then she'll follow Raven wherever she goes just to get revenge." Weiss points out. "Even if that means going to Patch and threatening or even killing your family."

Weiss' words put a small smirk on Raven's lips. "You picked a smart one, Yang."

"Now is not the time," I grumble, turning to Weiss. "And what if Cinder finds out and heads straight for Patch anyway?"

"Then I'll be there waiting." Raven answers. She's dead set on protecting her family. "It's time that I step into the light and come back to see Summer and Tai anyway. I'm getting too old to be a gang leader anyway."

"Then what are you going to tell them when you get back?" I say after a pause. "You can't just waltz in and not expect them to have questions about your disappearance or the fact that you're still alive. They could be furious about you up and leaving after-"

"Summer knows I'm alive." Raven cuts in.

"-Giving birth to- wait!? what?" I stop myself mid-sentence.

Raven closes her eyes for a moment to think and breath before repeating herself. "She knows I'm alive."

"But… But how? Why?"

Another long pause. "I went to check on you and Tai and Summer two and a half years after I gave birth to you. Summer was pregnant at the time with Ruby and was up late one night getting something to eat. I was careless at the time and gave myself away easily. Summer nearly had a heart attack when she saw me, alive and well. I didn't have much time to explain myself except that what I did was to protect you guys. She hasn't seen me since and hasn't said a word to Tai or anyone as a matter of fact."

Summer knew this whole time as well? I felt distance anger towards Summer for keeping this big secret from me. The same Qrow had done to keep Raven a secret as well. The anger disappears quickly. I've already gotten angry at one person for keeping Raven's life a secret and I shouldn't get mad at the same thing twice. Now that I understand the struggle to keep something so big and important under wraps.

"Will you explain to them what is going on?" Weiss asks, coming up next to me. "Or will you be vague with the information you give them?"

"I'll try my best to explain the situation without causing Tai or Summer to shove a stick up my ass roast me over a fire," Raven grumbled. She must have already pictured the scene where she enters the home and explains that Weiss and I are going through a whole bunch of crazy shit then getting yelled at by both Tai and Summer.

Weiss then changing the subject. "And who's going to look after us Menagerie?"

"Qrow, Winter and I have agreed that the chief, Ghira, will be watching out for the three of you. Though I don't know how good of an idea that is."

"Why do you say that?"

"Ghira has been struggling with white fang members going rogue especially after the disappearance of Sienna Khan. They've chosen to follow Adam Taurus in her absence."

The name Adam Taurus rings in my ears. Who knew so much spite and hatred would come back and bite me in the ass one of these days. The dude was a complete jackass towards me for hanging out with Blake so much in middle school. He moved schools after the start of our freshman year. Adam was a junior at that point. I hadn't heard about him since.

"He's been busy," I grumble unhappily, crossing my arms in disapproval.

"He has," Raven replies. "Adam is prone to use violence, but he isn't affiliated with anyone that we know of. Except for the only thing that might attract his attention is that you three will be the only humans on the island."

"Adam isn't the kindest person when it comes to humans or anyone of that manner," I say, glancing at Weiss.

"And that both you and your mother will be there. Two Schnee in one spot makes an easy target for him." Raven adds.

Weiss is perturbed by this. "Then why are you guys sending us there? If we are easy targets there then why leave?"

"Because that is the only place where Cinder doesn't have any affiliations with anyone. Ghira will not allow people who mistreat Faunus and use them like dogs working their asses off to provide for their families and give them nothing the scraps off the higher-ups' table." Raven explains. "Which is also why Adam will not have any connection with Cinder or her people. The man may be crazy, but I don't think he'll stoop that low for power"

"So the only threat in Menagerie is Adam, but he won't do anything drastic. Will he?"

"Not when he's under the eyes of the public," Raven reassures. "Adam is trying to persuade the people at the moment. If he lashes out at random people then he will give himself a bad name."

"The dude already has a bad reputation," I grumble, irritated that the man isn't already in jail. "I'm surprised that he hasn't gotten caught due to all of the crimes he has committed."

"He's under the protection of his own splinter group of the white fang as well as Sienna. The people who believe he is truly making a difference are willing to take the fall for him."

"Still doesn't justify what he has done," I mumble under my breath.

Adam has a long list of assaults and vandalism towards people and shops that don't support faunus. He's prone to do his work in the dark to make it less likely for him to get caught. But with the mask he wears, it's hard to miss him. The man is completely crazy talking about how Faunus should rule over humans and enslave them and so on. He says we should be grateful that the white fang hasn't been active in its violent tendencies. In my opinion, the dude is a nutcase and should be put behind bars before he does something that'll start a war between the two races.

"I understand that going to an unfamiliar place is scary and can be dangerous, but Ghira has given me his word that you three will be well protected and safe in his home," Raven says.

"So if Yang, me and my mother go then how will you break the news to her?" Weiss asks.

Raven smirks. "That's where Winter comes in. She'll explain everything she can before being escorted to Menagerie tomorrow night."

Tomorrow night? That's too soon for us. And it's way too soon for Willow. As much as I hate Dice for doing what he did, Willow still sees him as a loving and caring husband for her children. She needs time to mourn his death, but from what I've heard, we are out of time.

"It's early, I know, but we've heard that Cinder plans to make her next move soon and our best guess is that they'll strike close to home which why we are leaving."

"But what about the people who work here." Klein came to my mind when Weiss asked that.

"Don't worry. We will replace everyone with undercover cops who will blend in and act as if they were simple maid and butlers."

"Well, if there are undercover cops then how do they know not to arrest you as well?" Weiss adds. "Seeing That you are an infamous mob boss, wouldn't the Atlas police be anxious to throw you behind bars?"

"Qrow and Ironwood have already made arrangements for me. I have a full pardon on every crime that I have committed. They also plan to help me disappear from the gang light and are paying my several most loyalists to keep quiet and have an alibi that the rest will believe. Who knows. Maybe after I step down the gang will disband, but that is highly unlikely." Raven explains, ending with a careless shrug.

It all had seemed to have been planned out before Dice's death. It sounds like Raven and them knew he was going to be murdered. A shiver of fear runs down my spine as a terrible thought crosses my mind. _There is no way Raven actually Murdered Dice. Or anyone of that as a matter. Nothing is stopping them from doing it though. But in a short amount of time? That's not possible. Is it?_

"Winter will be here shortly to explain everything to your mother." Raven then says cutting into my thoughts. "I advise you two to start packing. It's going to be hell for the next couple of days."

 _Not that it isn't right now or anything_ is what I wanted to say. _Not like living in fear of getting hurt, kidnapped or killed for the few months of my life has been complete hell. It's not like I constantly think of what could happen at any minute of any hour of every day._

I fear the next day more than the one I've already past. I constantly wait for something to happen and it's starting to eat me up inside.

"What will we do in the downtime?" Weiss questions.

"Prepare," Raven replies. "I'll see you all when this is over."

The woman exits the room the way she came in. Through the balcony doors and over the railing. Just like that Raven disappears just as fast she was able to show up.

"You need better locks on your doors," I say.

Winter came and told Willow about the things that have been going on behind closed and well-locked doors. The older woman had no interest in what her eldest daughter has to say to her. Willow had a few too many drinks to understand what was said. I can't blame the woman anyway. There may be too much for her to handle in one day. Winter doesn't stop to talk to us. She already knows how we feel about the situation considering the looks on our faces.

"I never thought my life could get worse," Weiss mutters, watching Willow at the table with a bottle of empty wine and a half drunk glass of the red intoxicating liquid. "I thought I had it all figured out."

I rest a soft hand on the girl's shoulder, squeezing it gingerly. "I thought I did too."

The next day and a half slowly moved by. It was like watching sloths paint a fence while holding the brush wrong and using the wrong paint. Hell, they're not even painting a fence.

Weiss packed up the few things she needed and I had packed up everything that I have taken with me. As I did, I had forgotten to call home and tell my family how I was doing. Ruby would be scared out of her mind if she heard the news about Dice. The death of a billionaire doesn't go unnoticed. Mom and Dad would have called me by now and told me to come home immediately. They haven't called though. I pray that they're just busy with work.

The thought drags down my mood more, but it's better that they don't know what's going on. They don't need to worry about me. If Raven can hold her tongue until all of this is over, it would be a surprise. I doubt that though.

A maid had packed up for Willow. The only thing she packed was a bottle for the trip and her favorite glass to drink out of.

"You think she understands what's happening right now?" I ask Weiss, looking at Willow.

Weiss eyes her mother as she climbs into the car with the helping hand of Klein. "I'm sure she does." The girl responds softly. "Whether she wants to acknowledge it or not is a different question."

Part of me hopes she doesn't. That Willow is under the impression of alcohol that she doesn't understand what is happening right now. The other part wishes she does understand and can't take the back seat right now. Not while hers and her daughter's life are on the line.

We clamber in the car after her, Weiss resting herself against me while Willow stares blankly out the window. We look so defeated and the battle hasn't begun yet. I fear for how long we'll be able to keep our heads above water before drowning in the icy cold liquid. The drive is long and Weiss begins to fall asleep on my shoulder. I pull her close and push the strand of hair out of her face and behind her ear.

She looks so peaceful when I see the overhead road lights flash across the car window, showing me the girls beautiful pale face. I wish to protect and cherish that same look as look as I will live. I've been told that I'll be this family's hope and I plan to do that. Nothing will get in my way of doing so.

The airport we arrive at is small and looks vacant from the outside, minus the four or five cars waiting to be driven home. A man comes and takes us around back through a fence where a small private jet waits. Willow is the first to be helped out and guided to the plane. I follow shortly behind with Weiss in my arms. We get on and I take her to a small room with a bed that can hardly fit two people. There is no point trying to share the bed with the sleeping girl anyway.

The captain comes in and greets Willow before he enters the cockpit. No one else joins us on the flight. No flight attendant or even another pilot. It's just me, Weiss, Willow and the captain.

"The flight will be twelve hours long," Willows calls out to no one in particular, but I know it's addressed to me. "I suggest getting some good shut-eye." I can hear the alcohol wasting away her usual tone. It's sluggish and drowsy.

I take a peek at Weiss before the shutting. She's sleeping with ease. I then take a seat across from Willow, mostly to keep an eye on her. The woman can't do anything stupid now.

The woman had already poured herself a glass. I wanted to take it from her and smash it against the ground then lecture her about how her daughter needing her at the moment, but it sounds selfish so I keep my actionless thoughts to myself. Plus I kind of did give her the _okay_ to drink.

"You know this isn't the first time I've let myself drown in the red liquid," Willow says to me. She doesn't bat an eye in my direction though.

I straighten myself up. "I'm not surprised." Willow takes no offense.

"After Winston's death, I took a couple sips every now and then to keep the thoughts from returning." Willow's voice flattens into a cold sheet of ice. "Then Jaques stepped in to fill the gap. He was kind at first, but after marrying him, I knew I made a mistake. The man became barbaric and had this lust for power in his soul. He would get drunk and lock me in my room for long periods of time. I feared for Weiss' life, but there was nothing I could do. Jacques was abusive and the terrible thoughts came crawling after I had worked so hard to drive them away and I began to drink again." Willow closes her eyes for a moment, collecting her thoughts, sighing deeply and turning to face me. "I heard how Ironwood saved her the night Jaques nearly gutted her. I snapped out of my trans and decided I had enough of the bastard's abusive behavior. I filed a divorce and never saw the man again. I then locked up the wine cellar, vowing to never open another bottle again." She then raises a glass of wine, saying before sipping. "And yet here I am."

"Sounds like you've been through a lot," I say.

She swirls her glass of wine, eyes fixated on the whirlpool of red. "I could say the same for you as well, Miss Xiao-Long."

I tense up. She's more aware of the situation then I thought. "Uhh…"

"There's no need to get riled up about this, Miss Xiao-Long. I'm well aware of what is going on around me. And I have been thinking about it ever since I've been told by Winter." Willow speaks in an icy tone. "And the only thing makes me extraordinarily upset is that the two of you kept this from me for so long."

I turn my gaze away in shame. "We didn't want to hurt you."

"You did a fine job of doing the exact opposite," Willow admits. She then sets down her glass and leans in close to me. "But you also did your job by being there for my daughter through thick and thin. When I first heard about you I was skeptical about what you would be like. A girl that fights in the octagon dating my little snow flower? It was hard for me to picture the two of you working together, but you've proven me wrong when I walked in on the two of you that day." A cringing memory I can't forget and most likely won't forget for the rest of my life. "Against all the threats and consequences that would be inflicted on you. You still came for her. I don't know if that is utter stupidity or out of the kindness you have in your heart."

I snort. "I think it's a little bit of both, Miss Schnee."

A faint smile tickles the woman's lips. "Maybe it is."

I leave Willow to her own thoughts as I wander to the back of the plane to check on Weiss, who is still sleeping soundly. Stripping down into boxers and a t-shirt, I wiggle into bed next to Weiss. It's too cramped to actually get comfortable in bed even if the blanket and comforter are softer than silk. I'll manage somehow.

It had been some time since I laid down. My eyes are close to shutting when I feel a faint shuffle opposite of me. Weiss must have woken up. I wanted to pull my head off the cloud like pillow, but it's easier said than done.

A cool hand rests on my cheek. Fingers gently weave themselves through my hair. She's making it hard for me to stay awake, but an odd swell of emotion rises in my chest. Sadness, joy, anger, love, hate. Weiss leans and kisses me on the forehead. Warm soft lips are one of the many things I value.

I coil my arms around the girl's waist and pull her close, letting the swell pop like a bubble, and cry into her shoulder. Letting the tears flow makes me realize how much I have left to lose and how much I've been holding back. Weiss greets the action and holds me close to the collar, fingers still running through my hair.

"It's okay. Let it all out." Weiss whispers.

I want to. I want to scream and cry as loud as possible. Let all of my emotions out and feel my heart deflate just so it can be filled up and deflated again. All I can muster is a quiet weak sob though.

"You're okay. It's all going to be okay."

"I don't want to lose anyone else. I can't lose anything else." I whimper through ugly hiccups. "I can't lose you."

"You're not," Weiss says with tenderness. "I promise."

She holds me until I'm able to calm myself down enough to gather my thoughts. I oddly feel relaxed after emotionally draining myself. It feels good actually. Like I can truly relax now that nothing is clouding my mind or trying to grab at my heart.

I pull away, wiping the tears off my face. "Thanks, princess."

"No problem my little sun dragon. Now tell me what's wrong?" A sluggish shrug is all she gets from me. I don't know what is wrong with me. One minute I'm trying to fall asleep then the next minute I'm crying because of an overflow of emotions in my girlfriend's arms.

"I don't… I don't know." I mutter. "I just kept everything so bottled up inside and it needed to be released."

"You're a mess. I don't mean that in any disrespect. But-"

" _We're_ a mess."

Weiss snorts. The little noise puts a tingling smile on my face. "Okay, okay. You got me."

I lay in her arms, eyes ghosting over the pale skin of Weiss' shoulder, down to the sliver of exposed skin on her chest and collarbone. She looks nice and a little on the tempting side, but not here and definitely not now.

"You know I'll never leave you right?" Weiss speaks up. "You'll always have me with you."

"And you'll have all of me with you. I gave my heart to you, Weiss. I have given you my all. And I plan to keep it that way for a long time."

The minutes flew by then the hours flew by, and soon enough we had landed in a small airport not far from Menagerie. The sun easily bathed everything in light with its simple gleam. Menagerie sat on the edge of a beach and has many districts, one for the several different types of Faunus on the island. Blake told me about this place once back in high school, but nothing else. Who knows. Maybe I'll see her or Ilia here.

A man ushers us into a car and we head towards the chiefs home.

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 **It's getting their guys, I swear. Hope you all enjoyed the chapter. Like, comment, subscribe, and I'll see y'all next time! BYE!**


	47. Chapter 47

**We are sooooo CLOSE! Volume Six this Saturday guys! So freaking pumped. This chapter is not as long, but it picks things up. So enjoy and I'll see you all next time!**

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"They're here, sir." A gruff and scratchy voice answers through a phone.

The man on the other side smiled evilly at the news. "Both the Schnee and her mother?"

"Yes. A young blonde woman is with them as well."

The man loses his smile, falling into a skeptical frown. "What does she look like?"

"Uh… what?"

"What does _she look like?"_ The man growls at the other on the opposite side. "Does her hair look like golden yellow? Lilac eyes? Tall? Muscular?"

"Um…"

"Tell me now, damn it!" The man screams, slamming a fist on a nearby table.

The gruff voice stumbles over his words as he tries to get an answer out. "Yes!... yes, sir. It appears so."

A long thoughtful and angry sigh escapes the man's lips as he pushes his red hair back, fingers slowly rolling over the horns on his head. "That bastard." A sick chuckle builds in the back of the redhead's throat. "It's good to see you again. Yang!" Adam then points to a nearby Faunus. "You! Connect Cinder Fall. I have her game right at the foot of my doorstep."

Weiss' PoV

We are taken straight to the chiefs home. Many of the people here give us odd looks. _We are the only humans on the island they know of._ I thought to myself. _I would be shocked or concerned if a race that has despised us for so long just came waltzing in my hometown._

None of the looks on their faces are dirty or rude. Some don't bat an eye towards us which is good. I don't need to see anymore worried or curious looks today along with being in the spotlight. It's already bad enough that we have so much attention now.

An enormous house sits in the middle of all the smaller homes. The chiefs home. It doesn't look as intimidating when far away, but close up, the building looks like a fortress of solitude. The dark wood and huge doors with larger than usual door knockers made it look like I was about to enter a boss level from some video game.

Yang hesitates to knock. I would be too. The door looks like it's holding back demons or dragons that burn the flesh right off some poor soul. Yang builds up the courage and knocks anyway. A loud bang echoes through what sounds like an empty house. A moment of silence ticks by before the door creaks open. A woman steps into view, her feline ears pop up to a point in surprise for seeing us. Two golden loops are pierced through one feline ear, hair cut short and wearing a nice purple and pink floral dress.

"We were not expecting you this early." The woman says, then gives us a polite smile. "But please do come in." She opens the door, gesturing us to step inside.

"Thank you for helping us," I say, wheeling myself in. The woman smiles at my politeness and shuts the door.

"Who is it, mom?" A feminine voice calls out as we enter an open area. A voice I haven't heard from in a long time. Blake stepped out of a hallway that most likely led to her room. She gasps in shock when she sees us. Blake rushes towards Yang and hugs her. "You idiot." The feline mutters.

"Sorry for scaring you, kitty cat." Yang snickers, repaying the kind action.

Blake pulls away with a warm smile. "Next time you get into serious trouble. Tell me, okay."

"Okay, okay. I will."

The girl then turns her attention to me and her warm expression falls into a look pity. Blake shifts a bit uncomfortable, hugging her arm close to her side. "I'm sorry about everything that has happened to you."

I shake my head. "Oh, enough with the pity parties, Blake. Come here and give me a hug."

"Don't let the look fool you. She's still as stubborn." Yang adds.

Blake snorts and the air lightens up. She gives me warm hug. "It's good to see you again."

"It's good to see you as well," I reply when we pull away.

Blake then steps next to her mother. "Mom this Yang. My best friend. And her girlfriend, Weiss Schnee."

The woman smiles excitedly. "Oh, my! I'm thrilled to finally meet you. Blake has told me so much about you and her friends. I'm Kali." Kali sticks out a friendly hand.

Yang shakes it. "Wow! Really? I didn't know I was the usual talk of this household. I'm sure it can get annoying hearing about me all the time."

They pull away, Kali adding. "Yes, does get a little bothersome at times-"

"MOM!"

"-but the girl truly enjoys your company." The woman finishes with a smile.

Yang's smile widens. "I'm glad that she enjoys my company. Sometimes I think I get on her nerves."

"You do." Blake cuts in. "Too often back in high school, but you've matured when we went to college."

Watching the three women talk to each other so naturally makes me feel out of place and out of tune from the rest of them. Yang is enjoying herself and that's all that matters at the moment. Right? Mother must have lagged behind. I haven't seen her since we have entered. I also notice the odd look Blake's mother gave mine. Like there was some tension of a sort. I don't linger on the thought any longer than I should.

"I never thought Willow's youngest daughter would fall for you?" Kali pipes up as if she is trying to get my attention.

I take it as a joke. "Trust me, Miss Belladonna, I ask myself that same question every day."

"Oh, please." Yang snorts. "You can't keep your hands off me." The girl yelps when I pitch her thigh. "See!"

"Anyway. I never got to properly introduce myself. I'm Weiss Schnee and yes I am Yang's girlfriend." I hold a hand for Kali to shake as well. She takes mine and shakes.

"It's wonderful to finally meet you and… I'm sorry to hear about your father, Weiss. I heard he was a good man." Kali sighs, ears drooping. "I've also heard the many terrible things that have happened before his death."

Yang and I eye each other, concerned and curious as to who told Kali what has been happening. "Who told you that?" I ask.

"Oh," her ears stick up. "That would be your mother. She called me the other day and told me everything or at least I think she has. There may have been some bigger more personal issues that she wanted to keep out, but I do have a general idea."

What has surprised me the most is that Mother called Kali, the chief's wife, and told her nearly everything. How did she have Kali's number in the first place? I suppose she must have gotten it many years ago when Winston was running the company. He had meetings with Ghira back when both were still young and the white fang had started to flourish. I've never heard about Ghira having a wife or child though. He may have thought of the safety of his family and didn't want to give it away freely.

"Kali! Who is it?" A thick warm voice hollers.

"Oh, I forgot to tell him." Kali cups a hand around her mouth and hollers back. "Our guests are here hun!"

A tall, lean, man comes out of one of the vacant halls. A purple coat drapes over his upper body, black pants, and boots shiny. His black beard is well kept and connect to his hair with sideburns. His sharp yellow eyes gaze over all of us. Yang looks a little intimidated by how big he is.

A soft smile crosses his strong features. "Welcome to Menagerie. I assume you all have met my wife and daughter."

"Yes, we have. Have you met Weiss before?" Kali gestures towards me, causing the tall man to turn his yellow sharp eyes towards me. "She's Willow's youngest daughter."

Ghira looks at me for a moment, sifting through his memory for me. "Ah! Now I remember! You're the little girl who interrupted a very important meeting between your father and me."

My cheeks flush. The memory of that night flashes in my mind for a moment. It was storming and Winter wasn't home to comfort me. I had dashed into father's office crying. He wasn't angered that I had interrupted him. Father simply picked me up and had taken me to bed, staying until I fell asleep.

"Y-yes that was me." I sputter nervously. Yang snickers at my call out and shining spotlight. I hated it.

Ghira smiles fondly. "You were just a small thing. But you've grown into a strong young woman. I'm sure your father would be proud of you."

"Thank you, sir." I nod.

Kali then pipes up. "Now that we know each other. Would anyone like some lunch?"

"Yes."

"Oh, heck yeah! I'm starving!"

"Yes, please."

We move to a smaller room with a short table sitting in the middle of it. Pillows surround the table for us to sit on. We take our seats except for me. I feel awkward and out of place sitting in my chair and not being on level with everyone else. No one seems to mind except for me. You know what they say. You are your worst critic.

Kali brought out sandwiches and tea for all of us. I ask some water though and the woman happily brings me some. I'm not a fan of tea.

"So where did your mother run off to?" Kali asks as everyone grabs and a sandwich to munch on.

Yang hands me one as I reply. "I don't know, Miss Belladonna. She's been in a haze for the last two days and I'm sorry if she wanders around your beautiful home."

"Nonsense." Ghira chuckles, waving a hand dismissively. "Willow is out on the balcony enjoying some fresh as we speak. The woman has been here several times when Winston came. I'm surprised she remembers this old place so well."

I never thought mother had come here back when father was alive and well. She's never said anything about this place. It may be because of all the memories she's had with father here. I know talking about him puts her in a sad mood. I try to avoid it, but I miss him and I miss talking about him. I miss mother swooning over father when talking about father. It helps me remember that I had a kind and caring father in my life before Jacques and Dice. And more importantly a loving family.

"How is your mom doing?" Blake asks. She has a concerned look on her face.

I think for a moment. "I don't-

"She knows what's going on and she has acknowledged it several times." Yang pipes up. The blonde takes a sip of tea before adding on. "Willow has been through a lot in the past. The loss of her first husband and the abuse from her second one. It's going to be hard for her to get back into the groove of things, but I'm sure she can overcome this." Eyeing Yang, I blink in shock. "We talked her past the other night while you were sleeping on the plane."

I didn't expect my mother to talk about her past so freely to Yang. She usually hides the memories of Winston in a safe in her mind and the ones of Jacques she would quickly burn if they ever surfaced in her head. But to talk to Yang about her past life is a huge shocker to me.

"She hasn't been drinking? As she?" Kali asks with true care.

I sigh, nodding. "Yes, she has."

Blake's ears droop and her yellowish amber eyes fall to Yang. The blonde doesn't acknowledge her friend's firm gaze.

"And how are you two fairing with that?" Ghira questions. I can hear the fatherly tone in his voice. I'm afraid that he'll also be concerned and cautious about Willow drinking around Blake. I fear that he could have been influenced by Jacques terrible impression on the Schnee family and drinking.

"We are… working with it." Yang says thoughtfully. "Drinking isn't the number one answer that you should go to if something like this happens, but Willow has seemed to be handling her drinking well unlike someone else I know. She's aware of what is going on around her and I think that's all that matters right now. As long as Willow doesn't become a hazy drunk mess, I'm fine with it."

"And you Weiss?' The table of people turned their attention to me and I stiffen.

I don't know my own opinion on the matter. Yes, I've had bad experiences with people who drink, but never with mother. "Well… Well… I don't… I don't know how I feel about my mother drinking right now. It certainly isn't good for her health and I would hate to see her back in the hospital. But as long as someone keeps a close eye on her than I'm okay with it for now." I don't fully like my answer and I half-heartily support it.

After eating, Kali and Ghira cleaned up the table. Yang insisted that she can help, but the couple told her to go be with Blake and I. Yang may be stubborn, but she also knows when to call it quits and comes to join us in another part of the house. The living room most likely. Couches surround a coffee table and bookshelves stretch towards the ceiling.

Blake and I have never really done anything together since I last met her back in school so I don't know much about her and she doesn't know much about me. This could be a good opportunity to get my mind off of things and get to know the girl better. If Yang sees her as a good friend then I'll give some effort to be her friend as well.

"So what can we do around here, Kitty kat?" Yang asks throwing Blake a smug smile as she plops down on a couch.

"You haven't changed in the last few months have you?" Blake says throwing a half smile back at Yang.

I feel a beat of jealousy in my heart as the two friends continue with their playful banter. It dissipates though when I remind myself that Blake and Yang are only best friends and also Blake has a girlfriend of her own. And here I thought I would be good at detecting flirtiness, but I am judging two friends for being just friends.

"We could relax and play some games," Blake says taking a seat next to Yang. There is another free space next to her and I would like to take that empty seat, but it's still a struggle for me to walk on my own.

"Sitting here and talking sounds fine. That way you and Weiss can get to know each other better." Yang implies.

Blake's smile softens. "I can agree with that. Weiss would you like to take a seat next to…" She cuts herself when she realizes her mistakes. She must be thinking she overstepped or hurt me for saying that, but I don't care. The gods know Yang has made that mistake tons of times.

"No worries," I say. "Yang forgets as well sometimes."

Yang nods in agreement. "It's true. I do forget."

"Well, would you like to sit on the couch? I'm sure it doesn't feel good sitting on a wheelchair all day."

Now that I've gained some feeling back in my lower legs I can agree with that statement. "Yes, I would." Yang pops up on her feet and holds out a hand. I take it, stand on my own two weak feet, shakingly walk and sit next to Yang.

"Thank you."

Yang leans over and kisses me on the temple. "No problem princess."

Blake giggles. "Have I ever said that you two look cute together? Cause you do."

I blush at the compliment. Yang though is now grinning from ear to ear. "Glad to know that you like us together."

"Now how should we start things off? Some I would or I wouldn't game or just think of a topic and talk about it?"

"I would or wouldn't," Yang says. "What about you, Weiss?"

I think for a moment. "I don't know what I would or wouldn't is."

"I would or wouldn't is a simple game. Let's say I ask Yang if she would jump off a cliff. She'd say I would or wouldn't."

"Oh, totally wouldn't." Yang smiles then turns to me. "So you wanna play?"

"I suppose." I shrug.

The blonde pumps a fist in the air. "Sweet! Now, who goes first?" We all turn to one another to see who will break and go first.

"I say Weiss should go first." Blake pipes up.

"No!"

"Yes!" The two friends shout in unison.

"Ugh!" I cup my face completely hiding it. "Fine." A pause of silence goes by. "So do I ask one of you and…"

"Don't play dumb, go on and ask?" Yang demands in a playful manner. "I'm dying to hear this first question."

I put my hands up in defense. "Okay, okay. Blake, would you jump out of a plane?"

"Ooh, good one," Yang adds.

"With or without a parachute?" the raven-haired girl asks.

"With."

"Then I would. Yang, would you take a shower with Weiss?"

My face turns beat red in an instant. "You can't ask those kinds of questions!" I cry out.

Blake shrugs. "No question is off limits."

"I would-"

"YANG!"

"But," She adds quickly. "That is also up to Weiss as well. Now, Weiss, would you like to go on a date with me Friday night?"

"I would," I say not giving her question much thought. When I reflect on it and my eyes bulge. "Did you just ask me to go a date?" Yang nods with a wide cheeky grin. "I'll give you points for being smooth. Yang, would you make this date the most romantic date you've ever been on?"

"Without breaking my bank account? I can sure try princess." She jokes. "Blake, would you have sex with Ilia?"

"I don't want to-

"I would."

"Agh! My innocence is ruined."

As the game continues on, I grow to hate it more and more. Although I agreed to play it, I never thought I would hear some of the questions and answers in my life. It doesn't bother Yang or Blake, but I was a sheltered kid growing up so hearing all of this out in the open makes me feel uncomfortable. Yang has noticed and has told Blake to hold back on some questions and I'm thankful that she respects my boundaries.

"So Weiss," Blake asks. "Would you go back in time and undo all the wrong that has happened to you?"

That's an interesting question. I never thought up of something like that because these two have been more perverted than usual. "I… I don't know."

"I don't know is not an option Weissickle." Yang smirks, pushing me for a more clear answer. "I would or wouldn't."

There is a pregnant silence as I collect my answer. "I… wouldn't."

"Why?"

I shrug. "I suppose it's because of the influence of movies. You go back in time and change a little bit of the past and the future messes up. Which is why I wouldn't change a thing about my past. Who knows what could happen to my future."

"Well, What if you could change your past without changing your future. Would you still do it?"

"No. That's still too much work."

The two laugh and I giggle, but this question sticks with me for the rest of the day. It's bothersome to think about. I wouldn't change my past. It's has given me too of myself. I suppose what I'm trying to say is that my past has built me up to who I am today. Changing the past without a consequence wouldn't fix my personality today. I would be different if father didn't die or if Jacques wasn't abusive. I would be more confident in myself.

Blake then showed us to our room. It looks like any normal room, but I was a little nit-picky about there being two beds instead of one bed that can fit the two of us. She leaves us alone for a few minutes so we can get settled in. After that, we have dinner. There still is no sign of mother. Ghira told me she wanted to eat alone and nothing else. I wanted to ask him how she looked or if she is okay, but I keep quiet.

Dinner quickly went by. Yang and I went back to our room and changed into our pj clothes.

"Where do you think Raven, Qrow, and Winter are right now?" Yang asks, plopping down on her bed.

"I don't know," I say, pulling off my shirt. "They could be taking down the people who did this. They could be watching us right now. I pray they're doing their job and that's all I care about right now."

Yang hums. Her bed groans and the floorboards creak. I feel her warm breath on my ear. "I guess we'll have to wait and see." She kisses me on the back of my ear. A shiver of warmth runs down my spine, feeling her hands traveling down my arms.

"We can't…" I mutter breathlessly.

"We could though." Her hands grazed my stomach. Yang pulls around in front of me and kisses me hard and passionately.

My own hands begin to wander her body. Yang has always been warm and I love that the most about her. She's my own personal heater.

Yang pulls away, her forehead resting against mine. "I love you so much, Weiss."

"I love you too."

Qrow sits quietly outside on the porch of the bungalow he rented for a few days. He takes out a flask that has been tucked away in his shirt, eyes scanning over the small beach city before taking a swig of whiskey. His head fogs for a split second than clears. Qrow grumbles and tucks the flask away.

"Not now."

He doesn't like the plan Raven came up with. Sure it's a good way to get the baddies to come out and show their true colors, but it's putting his niece, her girlfriend, and the third most powerful person on earth in the way of a bullet train.

"This plan better not go to shit. Tai and Summer will never forgive me if Yang gets hurts or worse." He growls to no one in particular.

"Don't worry little brother. Everything is going as planned." Raven answers through the earpiece that Qrow is wearing.

The old man pushes back his hair. "Are you sure Adam is part of Cinder's crazy group of killers?"

"The man is power hungry and will do anything to gain more. Even if it means to team up with that psychotic wrench." Raven replied coldly. Then her demeanor changes. "So when is your girlfriend going to come back with her army of tin soldiers?"

"Winter is not my girlfriend. We are partners. Nothing more and nothing less." Qrow states. Raven snickers hysterically. "What." Qrow bites.

"Oh, you were always bad at lying."

Qrow grumbles some unkind words under his breath before saying. "Focus on the task at hand will ya. My niece and everyone in that house is in danger."

"Ghira has everything under control. We are only back up."

"That poor man." Qrow shakes his head. "I feel bad for dragging him and his family into this."

"You'll get over it. Ghira has been having trouble with Adam anyway. So if we can get a confession out of him and put him in jail. It'll be like hitting two birds with one stone." Raven explains.

"Is that supposed to make me feel better?" Qrow asks sarcastically. "Cause it only makes me think about everything that can go wrong with this plan."

"It will work. Trust me, one way or another. The plan will work."

Qrow doesn't like the tone in his sister's voice. It sounds threatening and dangerous. Qrow begins to wonder if there is a bigger plan behind the one that is unfolding in front of his eyes.

"When will they strike?" Qrow asks getting up from his chair and heading down the dirt path that leads to the market. There still is enough daylight for him to get food or a better drink.

"If they were spotted at the airport then it will be soon, maybe in the next few days or so," Raven replies.

The old man hum in a gruff tone. "Those kids will be damned to see us. I'm sure they'll not appreciate being lied to about this."

Raven sighs. "It's for the better. Yang hates both of us anyway."

"One more than other," Qrow replies, directing his words to himself.

"But she can't stay mad at us for the rest of her life. Someday she'll thank us for keeping this in the dark."

"You make it sound simple," Qrow grumbles as he passed all of the shops that are lit up with bulbs hanging over the streets. Then he releases a thoughtful sigh. "Maybe she'll forgive us for what we did."

"She will. She is Tai's daughter after all."

"Yang is your daughter too, Raven." Qrow points out.

"I didn't raise her and I'm happy I wasn't in her life until now." Qrow listens patiently while taking a bar stool, sitting and ordering a fruity margarita. "She doesn't need to be like me. Yang stands her ground and fights."

Qrow thanks the man and speaks up. "She gets her stubbornness from you though." He chuckles before taking a sip. "She also has that fire in her eyes like you do when you want something done."

"I'm sure she does."

Qrow then catches something or someone out of the corner of his eye. Two Faunus who are wearing maroon and cream robes. The White Fang group that represents Menagerie, but they look scarcely out of character and out of place. Qrow turns his gaze away when one of them eyes him suspiciously. Qrow casually finishes his drink and walks off. But he leaves wondering what they were doing at a bar stand?

* * *

 **I think I have two, three or, four chapters left. Of course, not everything has been answered and some things may never be answered. Anyway, hope y'all enjoyed the chapter and an awesome week. Hopefully, it'll go by fast. Like, comment, subscribe and I'll you guys next time! BYE!**


	48. Chapter 48

**Volume SIX is here guys and I'm so excited. A lot of editing went into this. I had to write and re-write the ending several times. I don't how I feel about it. It's good in some ways, but I feel like it moves too fast. Mixed emotions are all I have to say. But if you like it, then that's fine. Hope you guys enjoy the chapter and I'll see you guys later.**

* * *

Yang's PoV

The week goes by quickly. There is no word from Qrow, Raven or Winter. I haven't contacted my family because I fear I could give myself or them away. I believe that whoever hacked into and sent Weiss threatening texts are the same people that are behind the murder of Dice Schnee. But I can't worry about that right now. There are other things in the up and coming future that I need to set my eyes on.

Friday comes around and I try my best to avoid Weiss. I don't want to ruin the surprise for her. Too much effort has gone into this date from both me and Blake for one of us to accidentally slip up and spill the beans. I told her no hard feels though and that I'll see her tonight.

I thought my anxiety for tonight would slow down time and make me more anxious, but the day goes by quickly. I don't know if that is good or bad. We'll find out really soon.

Blake watches as I get ready for my big date tonight. "Yang, calm down. Everything is going to be okay tonight." My best friend giggles.

"I know, Blakey, I know. Tonight just needs to be…" I eye myself front to back. The skinny jeans look nice with the converse and the white v-neck goes well with the dark green jacket. "Do I look too casual?"

The Faunus shakes her head, scoffing. "You're fine. My, gods. Take a deep breath and let it out." Blake inhales and I follow along. Then she releases and I release too. "Better?"

I shrug. "I think I need a snickers bar."

"Oh, shut up." Blake punches my shoulder lightly. We giggle together. "You don't need to break a leg for the girl, okay. Weiss is already dating you and she looks super into you anyway."

"Yeah, you're right." I chuckle. "But I want this date to be the most perfect date she's ever been on."

"Then make it the most perfect date by not passing out in the middle of it," Blake says. "I swear if I have to come and drag your ass back to my house I'm going to chop off half your hair."

It's an empty threat, I know it, but when someone says they are going to cut my hair off, then they're playing with an open flame.

"Oh, yeah. I'd like to see you try."

She cocks a brow. "Don't think for a second that I'm joking with you, Xiao-Long, cause I will."

"Oh, I'm so scared," I say, cowering in the least bit of seriousness. "I know you too well."

"Maybe you don't know me well enough." She says tauntingly.

"Pfft! Okay. Can you go check on my girlfriend to see if she's ready to go?" I ask, flipping the tone to caring. "I don't want us to be late for dinner."

"Kay!" Blake gives me a thumbs up before leaving. "Good luck!"

"Thanks," I reply then muttering to myself. "I'm going to need it."

I wait outside the front door for Weiss come and join me. My heart pounds violently against my chest, but I don't show the excitement inside me on my face. A simple smile and patient look are all I need. The door open and Weiss wheels herself out. I've never seen her in a dress like that before. A beautiful shade of blue and swirling flakes of white spot the dress. Raindrop earrings dangle from her ears and heels to match strapped to her feet.

"Wow." I breathe. "You're making me look underdressed here."

"Oh, please. You look just as great." Weiss comments.

I shake my head. "You're saying that just to say it."

"I'm not though. You truly do look great. It shows your personality."

Her words put a true smile on my face. "Thanks. Shall we?" I gesture a hand towards the small beach city that waits for us.

"We shall."

Our first stop is a small market where people with many different shops sell many different things. Fresh fruits and little switchblades to toys and flowers. Some people stop and give us odd looks. I smile wave just like any other regular person, but I'm sure they're all looking at Weiss and not me. A Schnee at Menagerie is rare these days or so I've heard.

"Don't pay attention to them," I say lowly. "They smell fear."

Weiss wacks me. "Behave." She grumbles under her breath.

"Okay, okay. Our destination isn't too far ahead." I say, pointing towards a shop with flowers blooming in front of it. All different kinds of colors pop out to me. Yellows, purples, oranges, reds, pinks, blues, and the purest of whites that remind me of Weiss.

We squeeze past a few people. Some I have to tap on the shoulder ask them to move. One Faunus gives us s nasty look and grumbles a few words that we all know too well to forget. Past all of the people an old woman with a bushy grey wolf tail, stands behind the flower booth. Not many pay attention to her, but a select few stop to admire the beauty of her flowers. Weiss and I are apart of those few people.

The woman smiles warmly as we approach her booth. She doesn't look like a woman of many words as she gestures for us to pick a flower. Weiss picks first white flower that would soon be covered in an azure color. I pick a small orange and yellow flower and tuck it behind Weiss' ear as she examines her choice. She then does the same to me with her own flower.

I reach in my pocket and pull out enough money to pay for the two flowers. "Thank you."

The woman frowns and shakes her head denying the money. "Please, "I say, holding the money. "So you can grow more beautiful flowers."

She doesn't take long to give in, sighing and taking the money from me.

"Thank you. Have a wonderful rest of your evening miss." Weiss says warmly as we begin to walk to our next destination.

A large hut built with bamboo and a straw roof came into view. Bonfire sticks sat out of the way of the straw, ensuring the licking flames won't light the roof on fire. Weiss looks at the place skeptically when we approach, but I do reassure her by saying that Blake did pick out this restaurant.

"So if you want to blame bad picks, blame it on Blake," I say as a joke.

"I'll still find a way to blame this on you, Right?" She retorts.

"Yeah. For now though, just try to enjoy it." I say walking through the threshold of the restaurant.

A bar sits on the far side of the wide spaced building, next to it is the kitchen. A waitress takes us to a table that is secluded from the noise. We thank the girl as she walks away. The places smell of fried foods and freshly cooked steak. I pray there is something on the menu that Weiss will like. A gasp has me pulled from my menu to look at Weiss. She has a wide smile on her face.

"Look!" She says excitedly, showing me her menu point at the ice cream and milkshakes.

I smile. "Well, I know what you'll be having for the rest of your night."

"Quiet you." She commands. "I will be eating something else other than a milkshake."

I roll my eyes, shaking my head, and go back to looking at my own menu. I quickly get my order down and wait for the girl to come back. Weiss though is still looking.

"They have a lot of good food I'd never thought would be sold here. There's a lot of fancy foods on here." Weiss comments.

"And a lot of expensive food too. So do you have your order down." I ask.

Weiss eyes me. "No, but I do need an opinion. Should I get a fish, shrimp and lobster tail with a side of broccoli or a steak with mash potatoes and corn."

Both of those meals sound like they're about to pick me dry of money and I'm sure the look on my face says it all.

"I'm only kidding, Yang." Weiss giggles.

I breathe out a sigh of relief and rest a hand on my chest. "Oh, good. For a second I thought I would have to ditch you with the bill after dinner."

Her blue eyes narrow like ice sickles. "You wouldn't."

"I might, though."

The girl comes back and we put in our orders. She disappears for a minute and comes back with our drinks. Well, my drink and Weiss' milkshake. The waitress gave Weiss an odd look when she ordered a vanilla milkshake with little chocolate chunks in it.

"So how is it?" I ask, watching the girl take a long sip of her shake. It must be good if she's taking this long to answer or she might have a conflicting opinion on it and doesn't know if she likes it yet.

Weiss releases the straw and thinks for a moment, her finger tapping her cheek. "I like it, but it's not as good as the first one I had."

"Yeah, the first one is what you have to cherish the most," I say.

"Plus, it's not some old-timey burger joint. This place is more high end and may take more pride in other foods and drinks than a simple milkshake." Weiss implies.

I shake my head, grinning. "You put way too much effort into your milkshakes."

The girl responds casually. "If you can't live up to the name then don't play the game."

I can only nod in agreement. The waitress comes back with our plates of food. The delicious food steaming as if it were still cooking. It smells great as well.

"Enjoy." The waitress says before rushing off to her next table.

The creamy shrimp cuisine Weiss ordered makes my mouth water, but the perfectly grilled chicken that is covered in light spices, over rice and a side of corn doesn't make me regret what I chose. We switch off eating our own and each other's food, sneaking bites to each other when no one is watching. The food is superb. Now Weiss won't ring my neck for Blake's poor choice for a restaurant. Not that I didn't trust Blake in her choice or anything; I was just a bit skeptical at first.

I take one last big gulp of my drink and set the empty glass aside. "The food was great. I would get another plate of that chicken right now if I weren't so full and actually had the money to pay for it."

"I can pay for the meals, Yang." Weiss imposes. "You don't need to be so generous."

"Nah! It's fine." I sit up, waving her off.

"But you pay for dinner all the time. Let me do it for once."

I eye her for a minute and sigh. "Okay. If you're going to be so persistent then I'll let you pay for the meal."

Weiss smirks and pulls out a small wallet with snowflakes on it. It seems kind of childish for a girl like Weiss to have a wallet like that, but I'm not going to question her taste in wallets. She pulls out a platinum blue card with the Schnee emblem on it and slips it into the checkbook.

We leave the place shortly after and go for a small walk. The night is cool with the ocean's breeze rolling over the small city. The stars are out and shining next to a sunlit moon. It's beautiful and bright against the black and dark blue sky.

"It such a beautiful night," Weiss says eyeing the sky.

"Yeah, it is," I reply, stuffing my hands in my pockets.

Weiss shivers when another cool brush of wind blows over us. I slip off my jacket without a second thought and throw it over her shoulders. "Thanks."

"No problem."

I stop shy of the shoreline and slip off my shoes and toss them aside. Weiss eyes me curiously. "Let's go for a real walk," I say, holding out a hand.

She hesitates for a split second then takes it. I pull her up on her, but she stumbles because of her heels.

"That may be a problem." She says looking down at the heels.

Weiss yelps when I lift her up and throw her weight over my shoulder. "I can fix that." I make quick work of the buckles around her ankles and easily pop off the heels. Then tossing them next to my ratty old shoes.

"Don't you ever do that again," Weiss growls when I set her down.

"I'll try not to. But I think it's becoming a habit these days." I reply jokingly.

Weiss wraps an arm around my waist and I have one tucked under her arms. Our feet sink into the sand which makes it harder for Weiss to walk. She leans on me when we take our few steps. The sand slowly begins to feel damp then squeezes through my toes after a few more steps.

"Care for a swim?" I smile. Weiss gives me a sharp glare, telling me otherwise. "It's only a joke, princess. Don't worry."

we let the ocean water roll over our feet. It's warm and soothing to the touch. I wish I brought my bathing suit then I would totally take a dip in the sea. Another reminder to come back to Menagerie for vacation.

We start to make our way back to chief's home. The walk back is quiet and few people are out, some on their porches talking to their neighbors before retiring to their homes for the night. This is definitely the perfect place for a vacation, but I'm sure some people, the more rascal kind, would disagree.

Weiss and I stop shy of the front doors. "Tonight was great, Yang."

"I'm glad you enjoyed it," I reply. "It was hard to find anything nice to do without setting my wallet on fire."

She giggles. "No worries. You don't need to spend money on me every time we go out. Only for special occasions."

Well, that sure helps a lot. Now I don't have to worry about spending a hundred dollars in one night. I can put that extra money to better use than fast food and movies. Like flower or gas for my bike.

I open the door and gesture Weiss to enter first. The house seems empty due to how quiet it is inside, but I blame it on the sheer size of the house. We go to our room and get ready for bed. I take a quick shower then let Weiss run her fingers through the golden locks and braid it afterward.

"Thanks, princess." I kiss her on the cheek and we go to bed without any worry.

A hard thump wakes me up. At first, I thought nothing of it then another thump caught my attention. I roll over to face the bedroom door. The hall light is on and bleeding through the cracks. A shadow covers the light and warning bells in my head ring like crazy. I glance at Weiss who is still sleeping. I then crawl out of bed, carefully placing my feet on the floor. A few creaks in the floorboards cause me to tense up and relax as I try my best to keep quiet.

A male voice causes me to freeze. "This one."

 _Shit!_ I growl internally and scrabble to the edge of the room then squat in the corner.

The door slowly opens and two men step inside. Both of them wearing masks with red lined designs on them. Neither looks armed at the moment, but there is no telling what they could be hiding.

One brings a little black box to his face and speaks into it. "We got her."

He then shoves it in his pocket and moves towards the sleeping girl. I grit my teeth, but I keep my anger suppressed.

"Too easy." His partner snickers.

"Shh!"

I slip out of my hiding spot and get behind the two intruders. One of them quickly shoves their hand over Weiss' mouth and she quickly wakes. The other holds down her arms to tie them up, but he's too slow. I quickly leap into action, spinning him around and landing a strong right hook to his jaw. He falls flat on the floor knocked out. the other goon swings and misses. I headbutt him and he joins his friend on the floor.

"Yang, what's…"

"I don't know. And I don't plan on finding out." I say, scooping the girl up and we exit the room as quickly as possible. "We need to get to Ghira and Kali."

"B-but Blake," Weiss adds with concern.

"We'll get her on our way," I reply rounding a corner. What I see is a full-on battlefield.

Ghira fights for his life as he keeps two other Faunus with long golden like daggers out of their slicing and dicing reach. Blake struggling to keep a woman off her and I don't see kali. I hear gunfire ringing down the hall and people shouting. It must be the police holding the White fang back.

"My, gods!" Weiss gasps.

I grit my teeth. "They need help. Don't go anywhere." I set Weiss down and out of harm's way then head straight for one of Ghira's opponents.

He's lucky I showed up in time to keep one of them occupied. Yanking one man back, I pull my fists up and put my good luck smile on. "Care if I cut in."

The wolf Faunus growls and twirls the blade in his hand. "Only if you don't mind getting cut."

"Hit me with your best shot." I taunt.

The wolf swings his blade, shining like lightning striking just as fast. I'm just as quick though and dodge the swing. We dance around each other. Swinging and kicking, slashing and slicing. Exchanging bruises and cuts. I can tell the wolf is getting frustrated and impatient with my stalling.

"I've had enough of you little girl." He growls through clenched teeth, gripping his weapon so tightly that his knuckles turn white.

The wolf lunges forward with all his strength. I get in a ready stance waiting for him to come close enough. He never reaches me though. Another man clashes with him and they stumble to the floor in an entanglement of limbs. Ghira had thrown his opponent across the room like he was a paper ball.

"Go find my wife and get out of here!" He demands. "Blake and I will hold them until more backup gets here."

"But-"

"GO!"

I don't argue. It's a waste of time and breath anyway. I rush back to Weiss and scoop her up.

"Glad to see you didn't run off," I say.

"This is no time for jokes!" Weiss replies wrapping her arms around my neck. "We've got to get out of here."

"On it."

We weave our way through the halls, avoiding gunfire and shouts as much as possible, but, everywhere we turn, there is a fight ensuing. My muscles burn in every category and the small cuts I've received from my last fight is starting to take its toll on me.

"There has to be a back door to this place," I say between puffs of air, rounding another corner. A group of Faunus in masks standby, waiting for something or someone to tell them what to do. One sees me and shouts at his comrades. Without the rush of adrenaline pumping through me, Weiss and I would have been easily shot.

I duck back into the hall and run the opposite way. _Shit! Shit! Shit!_ My legs throb and my bones ache inside. At some point, I know the bones will pop out of my flesh. There is nowhere else for us to go.

"Hide!" Weiss shouts.

It's the only thing we can do right now. I duck into a room and slam the door shut. Not taking time to put Weiss down gently, I throw anything I can in front of the door. If they get in we're trapped and I can't protect Weiss and keep myself from getting killed at the same.

"Got any more ideas, Weiss," I ask, eyeing the door.

"No." She gasps.

Waiting here is going to get us killed and going out is going to get us killed. Gods, we've been pushed into a corner. We've got to find a way out of here without giving ourselves away or without getting ourselves gunned down.

"We can't stay here," I announce. "We're sitting ducks here. Do you see an exit?"

"No. The only one is blocked." Weiss replies.

My fists clench. "Damn it." I hiss.

I sigh and sit next to the girl. "Here." I pull her up so she can sit.

"Thanks."

We sit, silently listening to the gunfire and screams outside. I fear that bullets will soon rain into this room. Well, if we are going down, then we are going down together.

I take Weiss' hand and squeeze it gently. "I love you."

She squeezes back. "I love you too."

The doorknob jiggles violently and I hop to my feet, fists ready to do some damage. Forceful banging causes the wooden door to creak and groan. Several grunts ensue before the door jolts, pushing some of the barricading furniture out of the way. I step forward and push against the door, trying to keep them out, but it's two against a half weakened fighter. The door is cracked open and the man pokes his head. Shock ruptures in my chest when I see that it's Qrow trying to make his way in.

"Well, are you going to stand there or are you going to help me."

My jaws flap in bafflement and a mix of good and bad emotions rise in my chest as well as questions coming to my mind. "Um… uh- Yeah. Yeah." I start to push everything out of the way for Qrow squeeze through.

His gun out and ready to shoot. I have no doubt that he's used it tonight. "Man you two look rough." He says.

"Don't remind us," Weiss grumbles.

"Yang, pick up your girl. We are getting you out of here." Qrow informs.

"We?"

Raven wastes no time popping in. "Yes. We."

At this point, I'm not shocked or surprised. I'm only glad that my family is keeping an eye out for me. "All right, then let's go."

Qrow takes the front and Raven takes the back. Both keeping their eyes and ears wide open. Weiss and I stay sandwiched between the two armed friends. I do my best to stay calm for Weiss' sake. We slowly travel through what seems like a now silent and still house. It's eerie and puts my nerves on edge. Anything can happen at any moment.

We slowly make it to the front open foyer, thinking we were home free, but what waited for us is much worse. Willow laid at the feet of a man in a black suit. His flaming coal like hair and bullhorns stick out me like a nail on a board.

"Mother!" Weiss gasps, eyes wide with horror. She nearly falls out of my arms trying to reach for her far away mom.

"Adam," I growl.

The masked man smirks evilly. "Yang. I thought you'd be here. Do you like my welcoming gift?" Adam gestures to the whole attack, "I've put a lot of planning into it."

"Hardly." I spit venom. "Why would you do this? We've nothing wrong."

The bull grits his teeth and whips out a gun, pointing the barrel at me. Qrow and Raven put their guns up in response. "That where you're wrong. The bystanders are just as guilty as the criminals who beat us, spit at us, degrade us, and deny us. You've done nothing but ignore our plea for equality and the pain and bloodshed out on the streets."

"But your fight for equality is wrong. This is not how you gain respect for your race. This is fear and control." Qrow says. "You only want to overthrow people who get in your way. You want to control everyone or grind them under your heel. You don't want equality. You want power!"

"And power he will get." A cynical feminine voice cuts in. "He will also receive much, much more."

Raven and I turn to the woman behind us. Qrow keeps his eyes glued on Adam. The short black hair, orange-gold eyes, and twisted smirk on the woman's face make alarm bells go off in my head. Cinder Fall.

"Bitch." Raven hisses.

"Come now, Raven. I thought you were on our side. Telling us that Weiss and her mother was here?" Cinder's smirk turns into a smile when she hears Adam kick Willow and she grunts in protest. "At first, I thought you were lying, but when Adam called in about the little Schnee scampering around for help. It was a golden opportunity for me and for the White Fang."

"Congrats on taking my advice now you are going to pay for it. Now Vernal." Raven shouts and a short woman drops down from above. Everyone springs into actions.

I duck out of the way, behind a thick pillar as several mixed voices shout orders at each other. Sparks fly through the air as enemies and heroes try to get one step ahead of the other. Willow is left for dead, but she is still holding on to life. _There has to be something I can do to save her?_ I poke my head out to see if there is an opening, but the bullets are still flying. Weiss is shaking in my arms as I held onto her as tightly as I can. _Focus on one thing at a time, Yang._

"Y-yang you've got to save my mother." Weiss pleads. "She needs help."

 _I'm trying, but we're stuck between a pillar and flying pieces of sharp metal that can easily kill us._ I thought.

There is no opening for me and I can't run out there without getting filled with bullets. What good am I to Will and Weiss if I'm dead. Stepping out of the safe zone is suicidal, but the longer I wait, the more danger Willow is in. I just have to take a chance. I grit my teeth and let the adrenaline take over. Weiss is put safely aside and I peak out. Qrow and Raven are standing in the hall. Cinder is in a far corner and Adam is pushed back behind a knocked over table. They are preoccupied on gunning down my uncle and mom at the moment. Adam ducks under the table to reload.

 _Now is the time._ I tell myself. _GO!_

I sprint out, covering my head with my arms and sliding to Willow. She grunts in pain when I pick her up. She bloodied up and broken. "Sorry."

"Yang! Get out of there!" Raven screams.

I look up to see Cinder's gun pointed at me. In a split second the bullet leaves the barrel and heads start for me. Like a deer in the headlights of a speeding car, I'm frozen. Everything happens so fast. One second the bullets in the air the next moment a woman is lying on the floor, blood forming a pool as she withers in pain. It's all one big blur, but my mind puts two and two together. This woman had taken the shot for me.

"Yang!" Qrow's screams put life in my legs and I run for cover, not being able to process what had happened.

 _My gods! She just took the shot and… and I left her!_

Running back to my hiding spot, I freeze in terror. Another woman with short mint green hair and red eyes holds Weiss by the shoulder at gunpoint, her head at barrels end. My teeth grit. Any rash moves can get her killed.

"Stand down." The mint-haired woman demands, "Or pretty face gets her brains blown out of her skull." She pushes the barrel against Weiss' temple.

Qrow growls from the hall and steps, his gun dropping to the floor and his hands raised. Raven steps out as well, a snarl on her face. Cinder quickly gets behind the two of them, gunpoint switching from either one of them. Emerald throws Weiss to the floor and steps in for Cinder to gloat. I lunge forward and tackle the girl to the floor, leaving Willow to fall to her knees. The gun tumbles out of her hands and I begin to pound on the girls face. Qrow and Raven quickly double team Cinder, one of them easily getting from her.

A gunshot rings and the searing pain of metal ripping through my shoulder. I scream and holler gripping my shoulder thinking it would sooth the bloody injury.

"Yang!" Weiss shouts.

Emerald throws me off of her and goes for the gun. She takes aim but doesn't have time to fire. Willow comes from behind with a piece of wooden shrapnel and brought it down hard on her head. The girl is knocked out immediately.

I try to stand up, but the weight of my injury makes me feel heavy and I wither on the floor writhing in pain. My right arm feels disconnected from the rest of my body, my vision is blurry as my body begins to go in a defensive position. Qrow is angrily shouting at Adam as he runs away. He fires a few shots, missing as the bull flees the scene.

"Yang?" Weiss' distorted voice echoes in my ear.

I turn to the girl. She's holding my hand, but I can't feel her fingers. She crying and pleading for me to stay with her.

"Weiss…" My voice fades in and out of my hearing. "I'm coming… back."

I fight to keep my eyes, but my body is locking down and going into defense to my heart pumping. My eyes flutter closed and I slip into cold blackness.

* * *

 **Everything will be answered in the chapter. I still don't know how I feel about the ending, but if you guys like it then I'm okay with that. Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter and leave some criticism, it helps. Like comment, subscribe and I'll you guys later! BYE!**


	49. Chapter 49

**Last chapter before Rwby volume six starts, for me at least. I would like to thank you all for sticking with me or at least giving my story a chance. I know there are some things in my writing that I need to work out, but that's what writing is. Working things out. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy this last chapter and tell me what you think of the story as a whole and what I should fix. Thanks for taking this journey with me, guys, it's been fun. I'm coming back after the volume is over.**

* * *

Weiss' PoV

It's been a week since the attack. Cinder and Emerald had been arrested and both facing serious charges that will put them behind bars for the rest of their lives. Adam had escaped, leaving the white fang to fend for themselves. Something tells me they are not going to taking the cowardliness kindly. He won't be seen for a long time.

Yang has been transported back to the mainland, where she had surgery. The bullet lodged itself in her shoulder and it took hours for the doctors to remove it without dealing more damage to her already wounded shoulder. She lost a lot of blood that night and needed a donor to keep her alive. I feared that her life was lost the night of the attack. If the police didn't show up when they had then she would have been long gone.

Yang's family heard about the news. They got the information from Qrow and said that he would explain more when they came to see her. Summer was furious as well as Tai. They screamed and shouted at the man for several long minutes. Both had halted their yelling onslaught when they saw Raven walk into the waiting room.

She crossed her arms and turned her gaze away. Tai and Summer were completely dumbstruck upon seeing their long lost lover. Qrow told Ruby and me to go to Yang's room to wait and that he and the others will catch up later. I'm glad not to stand by and watch the family drama unfold.

As we walked down to Yang's room I would sneak glances at the brunette. I pity Ruby for having to go through all of this and not having anyone to talk to. She had to keep what she knew under wraps as well as deal with the thought of what would be going without her knowing it. I would not be surprised if she is angry at Yang and me for leaving her in the dark for so long. And after briefly seeing her other mom, I'm sure Ruby has a lot of questions swirling around in her head. She'll have to wait a little longer for the answers though.

A nurse is checking all of Yang's monitors upon entering the blonde's room. The nurse smiles stiffly but doesn't say a word. Yang looks ghostly when laying in bed. The once lively colors on her face are replaced with a pale creamy color. I hesitate to go anywhere near her. The fear of accidentally bumping into one of the monitors and making things worse keeps me far away. Ruby though has no fear and steps up next to her sister.

She took her sister's pale hand, rubbing her thumb over the knuckles. "Hey, Yang," Ruby says feebly. The blonde doesn't respond. She's still under the influence of sleeping drugs.

"I…" the words die in my throat. The swell of emotions in my chest forms a lump in my throat. There's so much I want to say, but I can't say it all without balling. If that's the way it has to be. Then so be it. "I'm… I'm sorry, Ruby. I'm sorry that your sister ended like this. I'm sorry for dragging you and your family into all of this. I'm sorry that you had to deal these secrets alone and you had no one to talk to. I'm sorry you lost a near and dear friend of yours. It's all my fault." I break down, unable to hold back the tears of emotions. "I didn't mean for-"

Ruby stops me by hugging me, tears of her own stain her face. "It's okay, Weiss. I take as much blame as you do. Yang does to and I'm sure she's felt guilt seeing you in a wheelchair. But none of this our fault. It's all because of a silly last name and a grab for power." The younger girl explains. "We all blame ourselves for what happened that night the car was attacked, but not one person blamed you or degraded you for the incident. We all lost something and now it's time to move on. It's time to keep moving forward."

Her speech strikes so many cords in my head and I begin to sob in her shoulder, we both do. We hold each other close like old friends that finally met each other after a lifetime of grief and pain. Our crying slowly disappears and we pull away from each other.

"Did I miss the sob fest or what?" Yang calls from behind, grabbing our attention. Ruby spins around in less than half a second and lunges at her sister, tackling her to the bed, arms wrapped around her neck.

"Yang! You're okay!" Ruby cries.

"Dumbass! Of course, I am!" Yang Grunted with the newfound weight on her body. "It takes a lot more than some crook with a gun to take me out of the fight."

The two sisters look so happy together. I feel as though I am ruining the moment by being here.

"Weiss?" I peak up to see Ruby and Yang holding out their arms for me to join.

I smile warmly and come over. I help myself onto the bed and the two sisters hug me dearly. Being sandwiched between two kind souls make my heart overflow with joy. When we pull away, Yang wraps an arm around Ruby's neck and gives her a knuckle sandwich. Though I'm sure she's not supposed to move her newly patched up shoulder, I'm not going to break up her little teasing though.

"Have you been making my girl cry? Nobody makes her cry, not even me, Ruby." Yang says through a grin. "Now you must be punished."

"No!"

I giggle watching the two sibling mess around. None us noticing the small group of people entering the room. Ruby is the first to see them and stops struggling in Yang's grip. Then we realize what Ruby is looking at and turn our attention to them. Qrow steps out of the way for Tai and Summer to reach for their daughters. I too get out of the way and sit back in my chair as the family hugs each other.

"Hey, guys," Yang says when being hugged gently by her mother and father.

"Hey, kiddo. Glad to see that you're doing okay." Tai replies, squeezing his little fighter before letting go of her. Summer lingers in the hug though.

"You foolish, foolish girl." Summer mutters. "Do you know how scared we all were in the last few weeks. Not a word came from you after I called. Nothing. We were left in the dark when all of this happened and you didn't tell us." Anyone can see the guilt on Yang's face as Summer tearfully scolded her.

"I'm sorry, Mom. I know I should have told you, but I didn't want to put you all in danger." Yang explains.

Summer shakes her head. "That is one of the worst excuses I've heard from you. Our job is dangerous, Yang. We could have helped you get through this mess. That's what parents are for."

"I'm sorry." the blonde sputters squeezing Summer closer to her.

"Oh, there is no need to apologize, darling. You're alive and well and that is all that matters."

The family continues to chatter and catch up with each other. They all wear smiles and grins on their faces, laughing, crying, a lot of that, and simply enjoying being a family again. Something that I realize I'll won't have for a long time.

Then I notice someone missing from the family setting. I turn to Qrow and speak in a low tone. "Where is Raven."

The man's jaw tightens then slacks. "She… ran off after being confronted by Tai and Summer. Raven still hasn't cleared up anything with her gang and is now on the run." The news makes my heart crack knowing that Yang will be devastated. After so much happened, Yang still lost something in the end. "But," Qrow adds. "She'll be back. I have a feeling she will."

I'm not going to put too much faith in Qrow's words, but, then again, twins do have this weird connection between each other so maybe there's some honesty in what Qrow has said.

Hours after the room clears out and the doctor comes to check Yang out one last time, she is able to leave the hospital. We stay in a nearby hotel for a few days, mother covers everyone's expenses. Afterward, we go our separate ways. Yang and her family go back to Patch and mother and I go back to our much-occupied home where reports and journalists wait to ask us questions. They are quickly kicked off the property and our lives go back to normal or as close to normal as we can get.

In the concluding events of the attack, I'm signed back up for my last year of college. I bought myself a new phone and texted Yang to tell her the news. She quickly texted me back saying that Ruby has enrolled for her next year as well. Yang also told me she may be working with Junior again before jumping back into mixed martial arts.

Her text put an enormous grin on my face. _She's coming back to Vale and more importantly, she's going to be close to Beacon._ Then a crazy thought occurred. _Would she want to live with me? We could do that. I could use my allowance that I've been saving up since I was young to buy a nice apartment. She can work while I'm off at college. That could work._ _I can use the help that she's always given me._

We've never talked about living together, but I think it's time to take another step in our relationship.

A month later, I'm back in Vale walking, yes walking, with a crutch though, the campus grounds of Beacon. In that month, I've had laser surgery on my eyes. No more glasses until I'm much older, though I will miss wearing them. I rented a small apartment home close to the school, though it was more expensive than I wanted, the building is nice.

I walk past the small grassy area. The same area that Yang came to see me. Back then it was simpler. We were only being ourselves. Yang playing frisbee with her friends and I sat on a bench drawing without knowing she'd run into me again.

The memory puts a smile on my face. More memories of the time flood my mind as I walk through Beacon. The warm air will soon disappear to a cooler temperature and school will start. The campus will be filled with old and new faces.

"Enjoying your stroll, Miss Schnee?" A warm and gentle voice asks.

I turn to the man. The grey hair, glasses, and cane tell me who it is. "I am, Headmaster Ozpin."

The man hums. He has a kind thoughtful look on his face. "I've heard about some of the events that occurred outside of school, Miss Schnee. I'm truly sorry for the loss of your stepfather." The Headmaster is genuine with his apology, but I can also sense pity.

"Thank you, Headmaster," I reply.

He then chuckles lightly. "I've also heard some rumors about you and Miss Xiao-Long."

I blink, and blink again, face turning red. "O-oh. She and I…"

"There's no need to explain. Your secret is safe." He smiles before walking away. "Have a wonderful year at Beacon, Miss Schnee."

I go back to my little apartment, not a far walk, and relax.

School will be starting soon again and I'll be back to my regular old life of sitting in a room and listening to lectures or trying to at least. It's better than having to watch my back all the time. But I don't know my true feelings of school. How can I go back an act like nothing happened over the summer? After finally opening up, I can't close myself off.

A knock on the front door grabs my attention. I'm surprised at first due to the fact I just moved in and next to no one knows I live here. It must be the wrong address. Either way, I get up to answer the door.

A man waits for me to answer and only to hand me a white envelope before saying 'have a nice day' and walking off. I wanted to him stop and ask where the envelope was from he was already halfway down the street.

I eye the white envelope carefully and flip it over. In big red colors, it says _open me!_ I head back inside, sit on the couch and open it. A simple piece of paper sits inside. On it says _'go upstairs! To your bedroom, something waits.'_ I do as the paper says and go upstairs to my room. It takes a minute or two for me to make up there and once I am, I'm a little winded. The light in my bedroom is on, but there is no sign of movement on the other side.

I slowly inch towards the door and open it. On the other side is the tall buxom blonde brute that I fell in love with a few months ago. Her smile wide and lilac eyes shimmering like colored diamonds. I drop my crutch and leaps towards her. Yang easily catches me in her arms and I'm spun around several times.

She gingerly sets me back down. "It's good to see you again, princess."

"Hello, my little sun dragon," I reply, tears forming at the corners of my eyes. I don't question how she got in. It's not important right now.

She wipes the tears away with a thumb. "Goodness. I've only been here for at least a minute and you're already crying your eyes out."

I laugh, trying to keep more emotions from rising. "I know. It feels like a long time since I last saw you."

"It's only been a month at the least." She says then adding. "You're walking again."

"Almost. I don't need a wheelchair anymore, only a crutch."

"I'm glad. Carrying you up those stairs would definitely leave a pain in my shoulder." Yang rests a hand on her once injured shoulder.

I sit down at the foot of my bed and pat the space next to me, inviting Yang to sit. She does. "How does it feel?"

"Eh." Yang shrugs. "It doesn't hurt, but it doesn't feel good. There is that grey area between the two and it feels weird." She explains.

"Mm. When will you be able to use your arm again?"

"Well… the doctor said to take it easy for a few months or at least until I run out of pain meds, then I can start training, but I kind of haven't been doing that."

I swat her arm in disappointment and disapproval. "You're going to make things worse for your shoulder if you don't relax you big dumb brute."

Yang simply laughs it off. "Calm down princess. I haven't been lifting weights or anything like that. I've only been driving around and enjoying the freedom on my bike again."

"Oh, and I'd love to hear the conversation you had with your parents."

"Who said I talked to them about it."

"Yang!"

"Kinding."

We chat and catch up on everything that has happened in the month and a half. Sharing stories that are too good or too long to text or talk about over the phone. Yang says that Ruby and Pyrrha are back together. Ren and Nora are engaged and will be planning their wedding over the next few months.

As we talk, something keeps popping up in my mind. A burning question that I've wanted to ask since Yang left the hospital. Does she know about Raven? Did Qrow tell her? How did she react? How would she react?

"Hey, uh… Yang?" I'm not sure if I should hold off or go through with asking.

"Yeah." the smile on her face makes my choice harder than it should.

I decide against it and wave the question away from my thoughts. "Never mind."

"Okay," I'm sure she can tell something is bothering me. It's written all over my face, but she doesn't push it.

We move down to the kitchen, Yang, as usual, being patient and watching over me as I walk down the stairs. The kitchen is small but modern with all of the usual appliances. All it is missing is some color here and there. Something Yang and I can do later on in the week.

Simple leftovers from the last few nights sit in the fridge, Yang heats them up while I get some coffee ready. I take a seat at the small dining table and watch Yang move around the kitchen. She looks so natural. It'd be different if Yang didn't live here. I still haven't asked her though and I do have my doubts, but I'm going to ask her.

Yang takes her seat across from me and hands me the box of half eaten food. "So," She drags out the word, "Are you ready to go back to school and finish up?"

"I am, though it'll be weird not running into you or hearing your voice in the halls," I say. "You're hard to forget and ignore."

"Is that a compliment or an insult," Yang ask with cheekiness.

I shrug. "Both, I suppose. You are a bother sometimes."

Yang giggles. "And here I thought I was going to propose to you."

I drop my fork, heart skipping several beats which I'm sure is not good. Did I hear her correctly? Did Yang say she was going to propose? It's a joke right? This soon? "You… you can't be serious? There's no way." I sputter with shock.

Yang looks at me for a moment before getting up and leaving the room. My heart is pounding in my ears. We've never really talked about marriage. All I wanted to do is ask if she would like to live with me and she ends up wanting to propose to me. It feels like it's too soon do something like that. It's scary to think about.

I love Yang. I love her more than anything, but I fear we may be moving too fast. We've known each other for a little over six months and I've heard that getting married after knowing someone for a short amount of time is not the best idea.

When she stepped back into the kitchen, her hand in her pocket. I freeze when she kneels down in front of me.

"W-Weiss." Yang cringes and clears her throat. "Weiss. I love you. I love you a lot and I want you to know that I would spend my entire life and I'm willing to as well. I know we haven't talked about it very much and we've only known each other for a couple months. But in those last few months, I feel like we've known each other longer. We've been through so much together and it feels wrong not to spend the rest of our lives together. So, uh…" she fiddles with her pocket and pulls out a little black box. I cover my mouth, tears welling up in my eyes. Yang pops open the box and a ring sits in there, glinting in the light. A gold and silver braided band that holds a diamond in place. "Weiss Schnee… Will you marry me?"

I nod excitedly. "Yes."

It' takes Yang a moment to process what I said. When it finally clicks in her head, Yang stumbles to pull out the ring, nearly dropping it. I giggle watching her fumble around. She finally gets the ring and slips it on my ring finger. I look at the ring for a moment, my brain trying to soak everything in. When Yang stands up I jump to my feet, wrapping my arms around her neck and pulling her in for a deep and passionate kiss.

Yang is shocked at first but quickly recovers herself. Her hands wander down my sides and sit at the hip. We kiss, and kiss, and kiss until we are out of breath. Excitement and pleasure run through my veins. A loving hunger is in Yang's eyes.

"How about taking this upstairs?" She asks in a husky tone. "I think it's time we seal the deal."

"We're not married yet, brute," I reply, cupping her cheek. "But we can do something close to it."

Yang scoops me up, though I would scold her for using her shoulder to carry me, I'm not going to ruin the moment, and we go back up the stairs without a care of what the future will hold for us next. Whatever it is, we'll face it together like we always have.

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 **I thought about ending the story with Yang proposing to Weiss with a ring pop and not an actual ring. I also didn't think they would marry at the end, too early like Weiss, but I want them to have a happy end, so... I just went with it. I can't say thank you enough for reading my story. I was scared to post my work because I know this fandom can give some real harsh judgment, but it does have a lot of kind people too. You all are great and enjoy the volume. Like, comment, subscribe, and I'll see you all later! BYE!**


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